Through NOCA, the Nordics will be able to act as a cohesive blue economy region rather than strong but fragmented national ecosystems. By establishing a collaboration platform for more than 20 mature ocean clusters across the seafood, energy and maritime sectors, the project unlocks the full potential of Nordic industrial strengths, innovation capacity and capital markets for the ocean economy.

Through a shared digital infrastructure and a joint cross-border accelerator program, NOCA transforms parallel initiatives into an engine for sustainable ocean innovation. In three pilot cohorts, NOCA will help at least 25 small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) in the Nordic ocean economy to validate their solutions across sectors, integrate sustainability, and prepare themselves for investment. All participating SMEs will undergo baseline assessment, and at least 70% are expected to demonstrate measurable improvement using the Ocean Investment Readiness Tool (OIRT) – a new Nordic instrument developed specifically for this project.