With the goal of supporting an innovative circular economy solution that transforms a growing climate and environmental threat into a job‑creating industry with high economic and environmental value, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced the successful closing of an investment in Carbonwave, the first company to transform sargassum into commercially viable agricultural biostimulants and cosmetic emulsifiers.
Sargassum, a seaweed that once grew in an isolated part of the Atlantic Ocean, has started to bloom out of control and overwhelm beach ecosystems across the Caribbean. It accumulates on beach ecosystems and decomposes, releasing methane into the atmosphere, leaching heavy metals into groundwater, harming tourism, and blocking sea turtle hatchlings from reaching the ocean.
The ongoing costs of cleaning up and removing sargassum across the Greater Caribbean have reached alarming levels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported direct collection costs of USD 120 million in 2018 alone. These figures reflect only the expenses associated with collection and disposal and do not capture the wider economic repercussions. Since then, the scale of the problem has only increased. Losses linked to tourism—such as trip cancellations and reduced hotel occupancy—are not included in these estimates. When these broader socioeconomic impacts, along with damage to coastal infrastructure, are taken into account, the overall economic burden on the region rises significantly, underscoring the scale of the crisis well beyond the challenges of cleanup operations alone.
Carbonwave transforms Sargassum into valuable materials, harnessing the potential of this abundant seaweed while mitigating climate change and protecting the environment. By monetizing sargassum, the project incentivizes its responsible collection and transformation, preventing harmful decomposition and turning waste into value.
Geoff Chapin, CEO of Carbonwave, said, “At Carbonwave, we are proving that climate resilience and economic growth can go hand in hand. Our technology turns a harmful marine overgrowth into products that support regenerative agriculture, through agricultural extracts, and sustainable manufacturing through use cases of the dried sargassum pulp. Having IFC as an investor and strategic partner validates both our model and our mission. We look forward to collaborating with IFC’s global leadership and reach to scale our impact in vulnerable coastal regions worldwide.”
Sanaa Abouzaid, IFC Regional Director for México and Central America, said: “Carbonwave is helping turn a growing environmental challenge into a new, job‑creating industry that delivers climate, biodiversity, and economic benefit, especially for women and vulnerable communities that depend on healthy coastal ecosystems.”
By supporting the resilience of tourism- and fishing-dependent economies, the project helps protect jobs in regions where sargassum accumulation has been shown to significantly reduce local economic output. The project also contributes to biodiversity conservation by reducing the accumulation of sargassum in coastal waters, which can suffocate corals, seagrasses, and marine life.
Carbonwave operates processing facilities in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, and Puerto Rico
