The Regenerative Economy and Ecosystem Fund (REEF) is a nonprofit Bioregional Financial Facility that aims to unlock capital for coastal economies and ecosystem regeneration. REEF will launch in Grand Bahama, where it will provide loans and business support to small and medium-sized enterprises reliant upon healthy local ecosystems and recycle profits into restoration efforts.
REEF is a replicable model for tropical coastal regions worldwide and is designed to be a self-sustaining strategy that provides a source of ongoing capital for both coastal economic development and local ecological regeneration. The Howell Conservation Fund, which backs REEF, uses a "venture philanthropy" model to find promising innovations and provide capital, guidance, and a network to help them scale.
Traditional conservation methods are no longer enough, as human activity has degraded nearly every ecosystem on Earth. In coastal areas, short-term profit motives lead to overfishing, habitat loss, and unsustainable tourism. This destruction harms the very resources that communities rely on for income, storm protection, and food security. In Grand Bahama, over 30,000 people depend on coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses for their livelihoods. However, local marine businesses—which are best positioned to restore these ecosystems—cannot access capital. They face significant barriers, such as 100% collateral requirements and interest rates over 10%, which make restoration unaffordable.
REEF is a new financial model that uses "smart finance" to make ecosystem restoration profitable, scalable, and community-led. The fund will launch in Grand Bahama, a high-impact pilot site where communities are ready to lead and entrepreneurs want to build restoration-based businesses.
REEF will operate by: