Through the franchising, experienced entrepreneurs can apply to establish their own Sea Ranger Service, after successful participation in the Sea Ranger Academy: a training, coaching and business support programme to support the establishment of new Sea Ranger hubs across Europe and beyond.

Using franchising as a commercial business model to scale the Sea Ranger Service as a conservation solution is unique. The approach will enable rapid expansion of the Sea Ranger model by giving a broader community of social entrepreneurs and conservationists ownership over ocean management and restoration in their own regions.

The franchising programme has been developed thanks to the pro bono support from Support from IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Ashoka through the Dela Accelerator programme, and PwC in the Netherlands, all of whom provided invaluable strategic, fiscal and legal expertise to design the franchising model.

Åsa Skogström Feldt, Managing Director of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship says “We’re proud to see Wietse launch the Sea Rangers Academy, its very own franchise model that grew out of the participation in the Dela Accelerator: Looking forward to see how this can create more jobs for vulnerable youth and more sustainable protection for oceans around the world”

 

At the same time, the franchising allows for a set of newly developed standards to be followed strictly. Effie Baert, Chief Development Officer at the Sea Ranger Service, explains: ’We want to expand our impact internationally. To achieve this we need to safely and effectively implement our high standards for Sea Ranger training and operational working conditions. For us, franchising is the way to accomplish this.

Interested entrepreneurs can now apply to set up their own company under the Sea Ranger branding and share experiences and best practices amongst other franchisees, which will form a global network over the coming years. This will further aid the improvement of the Sea Ranger Service standards for training and offshore operations. It is hoped that ultimately this will ultimately help to replicate the Sea Ranger Service approach as a best practice to increase impact for ocean management and restoration globally.

Initial emphasis is put on France and Spain to establish the next presence for the Sea Ranger Service in the Mediterranean. Founder and CEO of the Sea Ranger Service, Wietse van der Werf, on this geographical focus: ‘I have spent the better part of a decade working on fisheries and ocean issues in the Mediterranean Sea. There is a lot of potential to work in coastal areas in the south of France and along the west coast of Spain. Training Spanish and French Sea Rangers and involving them directly in biodiversity conservation will be of great benefit to the region socially and ecologically.’

Interested to learn more? Watch the video above or visit searangers.org/academy