30 May, 2025

Stretching across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) is the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. This biodiversity hotspot is home to over 60 types of hard corals, 500 fish species, five species of marine turtles, and some of the world’s largest aggregations of whale sharks. These rich coastlines also provide livelihoods for millions of people. However, overfishing, pollution, and climate change are threatening the health of the MAR and the coastal communities that depend on it for survival.

To address these challenges, MAR+Invest was launched as a blended finance and business development facility in 2023. The program supports reef-positive enterprises that contribute to reef conservation while providing economic benefits to local communities. And it is this connectivity between seemingly disparate sectors that sets MAR+Invest apart. As Amy Jones, the program’s coordinator explains, “We’re creating this bridge between the conservation world and the finance world, especially by raising capital for positive businesses.”

Supporting Innovative, Nature-Based Solutions

MAR+Invest focuses on sectors like sustainable fisheries, water quality improvement, and climate change mitigation. One notable initiative involves aquaculture, and specifically native Caribbean king crabs, which help control harmful algae on reefs and provide a high-value seafood product.

“The king crab is a very good herbivore,” explains Melina Soto, the Mexico Coordinator for Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, partners of the MAR+Invest initiative, “It eats tons of macroalgae on the reef, so could provide a solution that is both ecological and economic.”

Melina and Amy have been careful to balance the effectiveness of conservation approaches with the productivity of the businesses they support, and see these twin challenges as two sides of the same blended finance coin. As Melina puts it, “Conservation is not necessarily against use of natural resources; it’s about benefiting from the ecosystem in a sustainable way.”

(Above) Montastraea cavernosa, a reef-building coral found in the MAR region (Photo: Ana Giro)

MAR+Invest Program: Main Aims

• Establish sustainable financing mechanisms for MAR reef conservation and local livelihoods
• Diversify conservation-linked business models to reduce environmental threats
• Improve financial sustainability for CMPAs in the MAR region
• Monitor the impact of the program through scientific data gathered by HRI

Another recent success story is Terminator Water Solutions, a company offering decentralized wastewater treatment systems for coastal communities. This enterprise became the first MAR+Invest concessional loan recipient, combining funds from the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) with private capital. As Amy explains, “It’s a great example of blended finance at work.”

The Build & Connect Program

In the MAR, there is a common knowledge gap, as Amy reveals: “In this region, it’s not so common to have these profiles that can work in both worlds – conservationists that can also develop a business.” One of the programs established by  MAR+Invest to address this barrier is the Build & Connect program. Build & Connect is bringing these worlds together. After the initial screening and vetting phase is completed, “The next step is to focus on the barriers that the entrepreneurs and conservationists have encountered along the way,” says Melina, “To remove or solve those barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from establishing and growing a reef-positive business.”

Through the Build & Connect initiative, MAR+Invest provides essential training on nature-based solutions, impact investment, leadership skills, and business model canvas. To be eligible for this support, applicants had to demonstrate their business potential and positive impact for the MAR. The objective is to support them to grow to a stage where they can be ready to receive and implement private investment in the short, medium, or long term.

(Above) Diversity of coral morphologies is key to reef health (Photo: Ana Giro)

Leveraging Data for Impact with MERMAID

Tracking the environmental and social impacts of diverse enterprises can be complex. To streamline this process, and align reporting with the GFCR monitoring and evaluation framework, MAR+Invest recently turned to MERMAID. Although it’s still early days, they’ve already seen a positive uptick in both productivity and the convenience of the reporting process.

“Before we were working with a monster Excel file,” remembers Amy, “but with MERMAID, we can now just send the final number to GFCR—it’s more automated and digestible. MERMAID’s centralized system facilitates consistent data collection across projects, enabling better communication of results to stakeholders and investors.”

Switching to the new system and processes presented its own set of challenges, but communication with the MERMAID team helped MAR+Invest overcome these obstacles and, as Melina explains, proved to be one of the positive features of the new approach: “One of the really good points is access to the MERMAID team,” she says. “When we have difficulties, we just message them directly—it’s very reassuring… we can now just send the final number to GFCR—it’s more automated and digestible. Their centralized system facilitates consistent data collection across projects, enabling better communication of results to stakeholders and investors.“

Looking Ahead: Monitoring Impacts, Communicating Progress

The MAR+Invest Program has already secured US$ 5.7 million in funding, with US$ 700,000 provided by a joint SDG fund and the remainder provided by GFCR. Looking ahead, the program aims to mobilize a total of US$ 45 million in commercial capital, and a further US$ 15 million in catalytic capital by 2030.

With the project approaching the midway point of its full operational phase (2022-2030), allocating this funding strategically, and monitoring its impact effectively, will grow increasingly more important.

Moving forward, the integration of MERMAID will play a crucial role in monitoring impacts, showcasing results, and supporting fundraising efforts. The goal is to create a scalable model that aligns conservation with economic development, thereby securing the long-term health of the MAR and the communities it supports.

MAR+Invest is an initiative supported by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs and formed by the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR Fund), the Mexican Fund for Nature Conservation (FMCN), Sureste Sostenible, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, New Ventures, and VIWALA. It mobilizes private capital for businesses that generate positive impact on the MAR and its coastal communities, aiming to scale innovative projects and design financial solutions that reduce investment risk and facilitate access to funding.

To learn more about the MAR+Invest portfolio, visit mar-invest.org

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