Costa Maria is a seasoned development consultant with over 14 years of experience empowering African entrepreneurs to scale impact-driven organizations. Specializing in capacity building, strategic growth, and securing funding in emerging sectors like the blue economy, Costa has played a pivotal role in transformative projects, including Blue Invest Africa and the Go Blue Project. Her expertise lies in fostering collaboration, championing storytelling, and driving innovation to inspire change. Costa holds a Master’s Degree in International Development from the University of Birmingham, where her dissertation focused on Harnessing the Blue Economy to Improve Livelihoods among Local Communities in Kenya’s Coastal Region. Currently, she serves as the Coastal Region Manager at Sinapis, an Entrepreneur Support Organization, where she continues to mentor, support, and connect founders with opportunities that enable lasting social and economic impact.