Smart Ocean taps BearingPoint for strategic and capital raising guidance

Smart Ocean – a technology company that offers digital solutions to the marine, fishery, and aquaculture industries – has tapped BearingPoint as its partner for strategic and capital raising work.

The partnership will see BearingPoint provide a range of services that will support Smart Ocean’s objective to raise further capital in 2025. “Partnering with BearingPoint marks an exciting step forward for us as we scale our ocean monitoring technology to drive impactful change,” said Tore Halvorsen, CEO of Smart Ocean.

What is Smart Ocean?

Based in coastal Grimstad, Norway, Smart Ocean focuses on making fisheries more sustainable by bringing to market their ‘smart buoys’, which are still a novelty in the industry. These smart buoys are equipped with GPS and provide real-time updates in the event of adverse weather.

These innovative solutions help cut back both on wasted trips (fuel that does not need to be wasted) and lost fishing gear, which is a major source of pollution in the Nordic Seas, particularly when it comes to microplastics.

Smart Ocean was one of 20 companies to be awarded advisory support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) earlier this year. This support was given to companies from across the European Union that aligned with the EU’s mission to restore oceans and were deemed profitable and technologically mature.

Teaming up with BearingPoint

Roy Emeka, a leader at BearingPoint in Norway, said the firm is excited to be helping Smart Ocean with validating its strategy, finding new growth avenues, and verifying its technology platform. “Smart Ocean has a clear vision for digitizing the ocean, and we are thrilled to partner with them to turn that vision into reality.”

“We are honored to be chosen by Smart Ocean, the distinctive category leader in smart buoys, as their strategic partner during this pivotal time in their growth,” added Thomas Bagley, partner at BearingPoint. “Their innovative buoy solution and sector-leading technology have the potential to transform ocean data collection, enhancing operations and environmental impact across industries like fisheries, aquaculture, research, and defense.”

In recent years, the EU has improved the sustainability of fishing practices through a series of new regulations. Though Norway is not a part of the EU, it complies with strict EU policies on fishing, and along with the other Nordic countries, contributes to a healthy fishing industry in the northern Atlantic Ocean.