Major Competitions and Events:
During the year we managed three events in London, Dubai and, of course, Hong Kong!
During London International Shipping Week we hosted an investment-focussed pitch competition alongside the UK Department for Transport and Department for Business & Trade. This prestigious event took place at the Mansion House and featured twelve start-ups at different levels of maturity and with different focus areas, from bio-based solutions to digital products and innovative new propulsion solutions. The winner was BioBright who are developing an integrated solution to address the challenge of pollution within ports (https://www.biobright.co.uk/).
The second event of the year marked our first foray into the Middle East with the Dubai Tech Demo day in early November. From five finalists, with solutions ranging from AI to optimisation focused innovations, Ensomatosys took the number one spot with their inline fuel monitoring system (https://ensomatosys.com/).
Also in November, the flagship Hong Kong start-up challenge returned for its seventh year. The week started with a bootcamp for the six founders, where we supported them develop their pitches and hosted a number of workshops around sales strategy, marketing and PR, finance and more. The whole week also included numerous opportunities for engagement with the local maritime community – a key part of the experience. The week culminated in the final itself, which was held at the HK stock exchange with over 250 attendees and another 900 online. The overall winner was Calcarea (https://calcarea.com/) with BioBright (from the London event) taking the People’s award.
Themes and Focus Areas:
This year’s competitions emphasised four key themes: environmental sustainability, social impact, governance and risk management, and digitised supply chains. Start-ups were encouraged to present solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting workforce transitions to zero-carbon operations, automating risk management and digitalising supply chains for greater efficiency. One thing this year’s winners had in common was that they demonstrated out-of-the-box thinking, with novel ideas not simple incremental innovations.
It will interesting to see whether this marks a new trend in maritime innovation, with founders being bolder in seeking solutions to the many challenges faced by the sector.
Community and Partnerships:
During the year The Captain’s Table launched the Kai Community, a platform to support our alumni as they continue their journey from start-up to scale-up and beyond. We now have over 70 members who get access to resources as well as events with guest speakers – so far we have covered fund raising (the founder’s perspective), social media marketing, coaching and, most recently, the role of class, flag and port state control. We will continue to expand the offering next year and potentially open the platform to non-alumni founders.
Thought Leadership and Media:
The organisation maintained a strong media presence, with interviews and podcasts featuring industry leaders like Tabitha Logan, who discussed fleet renewals, digitalisation, and sustainability-linked financing. These conversations highlighted The Captain’s Table’s role in bridging the gap between shipowners and start-ups, helping to drive digital transformation across the sector.
News from previous cohorts:
We’re proud to report that the majority of our alumni are continuing to develop and scale. Some highlights from the year:
123Carbon reported several major partnerships throughout the year with highlights including a partnership with Skymetrix for SAF management, an alliance with ZERO44 to link mandatory and voluntary carbon markets, and a partnership with Agendi to accelerate book-and-claim adoption in U.S. logistics.
Portcast gained industry recognition for its predictive visibility logistics platform, including the 2025 SDCE Supply Chain Award for predictive analytics empowering global food & beverage supply chains. In addition, they announced a collaboration with Siemens to develop AI enabled supply chain resilience.
Most recently, Hafnia has selected FrontM’s infotainment solutions – Loft Multiplex and Loft Kiosk – as part of a fleetwide upgrade designed to strengthen onboard communication, support safety culture and enhance crew wellbeing.
From a funding perspective a few notable achievements:
Everimpact secured significant strategic investment in 2025 from EIT Urban Mobility and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital to expand its real-time greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking network.
Back in march Kaiko Systems completed their series A round of €6 million led by Hi Inov and Flashpoint Venture Growth with participation from Motion Ventures.
Finally, hot off the press, GT Wings secured a significant new investment led by Grieg Kapital, with participation from Blackfinch Ventures, One Planet Capital and others, to scale its wind propulsion Jet Sail technology for commercial shipping decarbonisation.
Looking ahead:
Planning is already underway for 2026, with a focus on attracting the highest-potential founders to our events and creating a platform or launchpad for them, whether they are seeking investment or access to new markets. We will also be working closely with our sponsors to ensure that we continue to deliver value as we support maritime innovation in a sustainable, long-term way.
To learn more about our plans for 2026 and find out how you can get involved then please message us here: https://www.captainstable.hk/contact-us/