For Dabri Loïc Nzalakanda-Noble, ocean conservation is not a distant scientific pursuit, it is a shared responsibility that begins with curiosity, play, and access. As the founder of AquaPlay, Dabri is reimagining how African youth connect with marine life, transforming environmental education into an interactive and empowering experience.
AquaPlay is a prototype interactive platform designed to raise awareness about ocean protection while helping young people discover marine biodiversity. Through missions, an AI-powered species scanner, and an experimental community network, the platform invites youth to explore the ocean not as passive observers, but as active participants in its preservation.
At the heart of Dabri’s work lies a pressing challenge: plastic pollution, the loss of marine biodiversity, and low youth engagement in ocean conservation across Africa. These issues threaten not only marine ecosystems but also the livelihoods and futures of coastal communities. For Dabri, addressing them means starting early, by equipping young people with knowledge, tools, and a sense of agency.
The inspiration for AquaPlay emerged during the 9th Ocean Hackathon, organized by the Campus Mondial de la Mer. Immersed in an environment where innovation met environmental urgency, Dabri saw an opportunity to turn conservation into something playful, accessible, and relevant to young people. Rather than relying on traditional awareness campaigns, AquaPlay was born as a way to meet youth where they are, through technology, interaction, and experimentation.
Even at the prototype stage, AquaPlay has begun to make its mark. The initiative placed 2nd at the local stage of the 9th Ocean Hackathon in Pointe-Noire, earned recognition as a Top 12 finalist of the Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge 2025, and successfully completed pilot tests with a small group of young users. These pilots validated the platform’s core features and confirmed that playful engagement can spark genuine interest in marine conservation.
One of the most common misconceptions Dabri encounters is the belief that ocean conservation is reserved for scientists and experts. AquaPlay challenges this narrative directly. It shows that anyone, regardless of age, background, or technical expertise, can contribute meaningfully, even by engaging with a prototype designed to inspire awareness and action.
Building AquaPlay has not been without its challenges. One of the toughest has been engaging youth with limited access to digital resources. Dabri responded by designing lightweight mobile content and interactive games that could run on basic devices, then testing these solutions with small pilot groups. This iterative, user-centered approach has been key to ensuring the platform remains inclusive and practical.
On difficult days, Dabri stays motivated by a simple belief: every small action matters. Every pilot test, every young person engaged, and every piece of feedback brings AquaPlay closer to becoming a tool for meaningful ocean protection. Impact, to Dabri, is not just about scale, it is about behavior change and community mobilization, even in the earliest experimental phases.
Looking ahead three to five years, Dabri envisions AquaPlay as a pan-African platform, engaging millions of young people and supporting real, on-the-ground marine conservation initiatives following its official launch. Success will be measured not only in user numbers, but in empowered youth who feel connected to and responsible for their oceans.
For others seeking to drive change in similar spaces, Dabri’s advice is clear: start small, test your ideas, involve the community from the prototype stage, and use technology as a tool, not the goal, for impact. Collaboration, experimentation, and patience are just as important as vision.
If given a moment with policymakers and investors, Dabri would ask for support for initiatives that transform environmental education into concrete action, even at early stages. What excites him most is the potential of youth-driven innovation to redefine conservation across the continent.
Much of Dabri’s journey happens away from the spotlight, in the time spent iterating, testing, refining, and listening. It is quiet, patient work, driven by the belief that curiosity can lead to action, and action can lead to change.
In one sentence, Dabri sums it up best: AquaPlay transforms youth curiosity into concrete actions to protect oceans, starting with pilot tests.
This article is part of a special spotlight series produced through a partnership between Savvy Fellowship and Opportunity Desk, featuring the Top 12 finalists of the Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge (ODIC) 2025 and amplifying innovative, community-driven solutions across Africa.