Finland offers Tanzania a blueprint for blue-economy innovation

Tanzania can unlock more value from its blue economy by making research respond to real market problems, involving users early and helping scientists turn innovations into businesses, a Finnish innovation expert has said. The specialist from Ecosystems, Innovation and Business Advisory at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Mr Janne Saarikko, told a Tanzanian delegation visiting Finland that research institutions should resist the temptation to develop technologies first and search for customers later. “Don’t innovate first. Before you start innovating, find someone who has a big enough problem,” Mr Saarikko said during a presentation on developing sustainable businesses from renewable natural resources, transferring research and technical development into inventions and supporting start-ups. The presentation, on September 25, 2026, was part of a study visit under the European Union-funded Digital for Tanzania (D4T) Twinning project, which supports Tanzania’s digital transformation, including private-sector and research capacity building. Finland leads the project’s private-sector and research component. Mr Saarikko said Luke uses a “co-development” approach in which researchers are required to understand the problem before developing a solution. He cited a programme where prospective founders were first asked to prepare two slides explaining the problem they wanted to solve and their proposed approach. They were then sent to speak to between 15 and 30 potential customers, record their responses and improve the idea based on the feedback. “That’s probably the best learning experience in many cases,” he said. The approach offers a potential lesson for Tanzania as it seeks to implement its National Blue Economy Policy 2024 and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Blue Economy Action Plan 2025–2035. The 10-year action plan seeks to increase investment, value addition, technology use, research, aquaculture productivity and sustainable use of aquatic resources. It specifically identifies technologies including artificial intelligence, remote sensing and marine robotics as areas for development. The opportunity is substantial. The World Bank says fishing and aquaculture contribute 1.8 percent of Mainland Tanzania’s GDP and 4.8 percent of Zanzibar’s, while about 430,000 people work directly in the sectors and more than 4.5 million depend on related activities such as processing, marketing and sales. Fish provides about 30 percent of daily animal protein consumption on the mainland and 90 percent in Zanzibar. Aquaculture is also expanding. According to the latest FAO data, Tanzania produced more than 138,600 tonnes of aquaculture products in 2024, including about 43,590 tonnes of finfish and nearly 94,980 tonnes of seaweed. Commercial fish cages increased from 50 in 2014 to 1,635 in 2024. It is here that Finland’s experience in taking research to the market could be particularly relevant. Mr Saarikko said Luke has several routes for commercialising research, including partnerships with companies, licensing patented technologies, developing data into commercial services and creating spin-off companies. Its support system includes proof-of-concept funding, intellectual-property and patent support, innovation coaching, links to accelerators and investors, and an AI-driven coaching programme for researchers. Luke has also developed aquaculture innovations, including technology for recirculating aquaculture systems and a filtration technology designed to remove compounds responsible for unpleasant flavours in farmed fish. “These are the kinds of things we try to take from research into impact and business,” Mr Saarikko said. But he said successful innovation also depends on the right combination of technology, market demand, capable teams and regulation. “Regulation is also very important,” he said, arguing that governments should maintain necessary safeguards while making approval processes faster and more predictable. That lesson is also relevant to Tanzania’s blue-economy ambitions, where the national action plan calls for stronger research, technology transfer, investment and stakeholder participation. For the Tanzanian delegation, the Finnish experience therefore points to a broader lesson: “Blue-economy transformation is not only about having fisheries, aquaculture and other aquatic resources, but also about building the research, digital systems, businesses and regulatory environment needed to convert those resources into sustainable economic value,” said Head of ICT development at Tanzania’s ICT Commission, Dr Ally Simba.