Building a living laboratory for international collaboration, sustainable development and a new generation of innovation ecosystems.
Welcome to Oasis Seychelles!
If you have arrived here after reading my recently published book, Authentic Serendipity – and Why We Need 21st-Century Jesters, you may already be familiar with Oasis Seychelles. In its final chapters, I introduce Oasis as a future testbed for an ambitious idea: bringing together people, expertise and resources from different parts of the world to tackle complex challenges that no single organisation or country can solve alone.
Our first focus is SDG 14: Life Below Water, supported by SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Now, the vision is moving towards implementation.
From the original vision to Brain Gravity
My involvement in Seychelles began in 2017, when I conducted a five-week field study in cooperation with the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation (NISTI). Together, we developed a roadmap for strengthening the country’s innovation capacity and diversifying an economy heavily dependent on tourism and fisheries.
Nearly a decade later, the underlying challenge remains highly relevant.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face structural constraints that larger economies can often overcome through scale. Their domestic markets are small, their specialist talent pools are limited, and their ability to compete for international expertise and investment is constrained.
But smallness can also become a strategic advantage.
On June 24, 2026, I presented our evolving vision at the Seychelles Science, Technology and Innovation Forum under the title From Brain Drain to Brain Gravity: Building Innovation Capacity in Small Island Developing States.
The central argument was simple: Seychelles should not only try to retain its talent. It should develop the capability to attract, connect and circulate talent through international, purpose-driven communities.
We call this Brain Gravity.
What is Oasis Seychelles?
Oasis Seychelles is envisioned as a hybrid innovation environment combining three mutually reinforcing elements: a physical hub, a digital competence platform and a curated international community.
Its purpose is not simply to provide desks, meeting rooms or another coworking space. It is to bring Seychellois entrepreneurs, researchers, businesses and public institutions together with visiting experts, diaspora professionals and international partners.
Our guiding philosophy is Work. Learn. Play.
We believe that meaningful international collaboration requires more than occasional conferences, online meetings or short expert visits. It requires opportunities for people to spend time together, work on real challenges, share experiences and develop collaborative trust.
These relationships can become bridges between entire innovation ecosystems.
Turning international collaboration into national capability
Human capital is a decisive constraint for small economies. However, national innovation capability should not be measured solely by the number of experts permanently residing within a country’s borders.
What matters is whether their expertise can be accessed and mobilised when needed.
The same principle applies to financial resources.
When domestic resources are scarce, participation in international grant-funded projects and research consortia offers a practical way to leverage external funding while gaining access to world-class expertise, technologies and international networks.
Oasis Seychelles aims to make these opportunities more accessible to local stakeholders.
We want to help transform international encounters into lasting partnerships, partnerships into project consortia, and consortia into funded initiatives that strengthen Seychelles’ innovation capacity.
A living laboratory for sustainable development
Our initial focus on SDG 14 is deliberate.
Seychelles combines an extensive ocean territory, established marine expertise, international credibility in ocean stewardship and a strong interest in developing its Blue Economy.
These characteristics make it a compelling environment for experimenting with new forms of international collaboration.
But our ambition extends beyond marine innovation.
Oasis Seychelles is intended to serve as the first testbed for what I describe in my book as 21st-century meta-ecosystems: interconnected communities that mobilise complementary competences and resources to address specific global challenges.
The experience gained in Seychelles will help us develop, test and refine collaborative methods that could eventually be adapted to other SDGs and locations.
The next chapter: Preparing for 2027
This website will evolve alongside the initiative. We will share updates on our progress, explain the Oasis methodology and introduce opportunities for researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, diaspora professionals and other potential collaborators to participate.
For readers of Authentic Serendipity – and Why We Need 21st-Century Jesters, Oasis Seychelles offers an opportunity to follow how the ideas illustrated in the book—particularly Oasis Way of Working, collective serendipity and the the impact of 21st-Century Jester in creativity and idea elaboration—can be explored in a real-world environment.
The book tells the story. Oasis Seychelles is going to be one of the places where we are going to write the next chapters of our Peregrinaggio. If you are interested – join our team.
Follow this site for updates. May Kairos be with you!
Ilkka Kakko
Founder & Partner Karostech Ltd · Oasis Seychelles Initiative
Author of Authentic Serendipity – and Why We Need 21st-Century Jesters, published September 24th 2026, publisher BoD, Germany
You may order it here
