OECS Strengthens Regional Innovation Ties at Caribbean Innovation Days 2025 in Guadeloupe

OECS Press Release

December 15, 2025

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has completed a successful mission to Caribbean Innovation Days (CIDs) 2025, held in Guadeloupe from December 1-4. The event, organised by Technopole I-NOVA Guadeloupe in partnership with French Tech Guadeloupe, brought together more than 300 innovators, investors, researchers, public authorities, and ecosystem leaders from the French Outermost Regions, the wider Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.

The OECS delegation was led by His Excellency Dr Ricardo R. Neil, Ambassador for Science and Technology for St. Kitts and Nevis, and included three OECS innovation-driven firms, namely Medial Health, The Local App, and Orbtronics, as well as staff from the OECS Commission. Ambassador Neil was recognised among the event’s distinguished speakers for his contribution to regional innovation cooperation.

At the official opening, the President of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, Honourable Ary Chalus, signalled the island’s ambition to anchor regional innovation leadership, noting:

“Guadeloupe wants and can become a technological hub at the heart of exchanges between Europe and the Americas.”

The President further outlined Guadeloupe’s strategy to strengthen coordination between ecosystems, elevate regional start-ups, and forge lasting ties among the Americas, Africa, and Europe, stating:

“Our method, first, is to strengthen coordination between our ecosystems, to integrate our solutions into national, European, and Caribbean growth strategies. Next, to highlight our startups that innovate with artificial intelligence, blockchain, immersive worlds, or big data, they will be our ambassadors to global economic hotspots. Finally, to forge lasting ties between the Americas, Africa, and Europe, three continents that the Caribbean must claim as a legacy of its history.”

Mr Sébastien Luissaint, President of Technopole I-NOVA, highlighted the deeper mission of the gathering:

“The Caribbean Innovation Days… are not just four days of conferences, pitches, or exhibitions. It is the desire to transform our island territories into real living innovation laboratories, capable of anticipating crises and imagining relevant solutions for the entire Caribbean.”

Four Days of AI, Innovation, Investment, and Collaboration

The programme featured conferences, debates, pitch sessions, business forums, investment matchmaking, an Innovation Challenge, and specialised workshops. Discussions focused on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and the future of work, territorial innovation, technology transfer, and new investment mechanisms connecting the Caribbean with Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Throughout the event, the OECS advanced its emerging OECS Innovation Support Programme, aimed at positioning the Eastern Caribbean as a global micro-hub for digital, green, and creative innovation. Current priorities include expanding access to remote jobs, building a regional cadre of innovation champions, and increasing innovation-focused events such as hackathons, labs, and investor forums, all aligned with the OECS Strategic priority to transform the OECS Economy.

Among the concrete outcomes of The Caribbean Innovation Days mission were the following:

A partnership with a European innovation firm to pilot a remote-worker recruitment campaign across OECS Member States.
Access for Caribbean creatives to an online hub, offering networking, training, and grant opportunities.
New funding and capacity-building pathways for OECS agri-tech start-ups.
Collaboration with a Guadeloupean cosmetic chemist to strengthen OECS cosmetics testing, formulation and export-readiness.
Direct engagement with international investors exploring opportunities with OECS innovation-based firms.
Advancements in cooperation discussions between the Eastern Caribbean – Robotics and Innovation Association and Technopole I-NOVA.

Reflecting on the Caribbean Innovation Days mission, Ambassador Neil stated:

“The Eastern Caribbean is rich in talent and ideas, but our innovators still face barriers of scale, access, and visibility. Caribbean Innovation Days shows what becomes possible when island territories pool their strengths and design solutions together.”

Building on the momentum of CIDs 2025, the OECS expressed its interest in hosting the 2026 edition in an Anglophone OECS Member State to showcase regional innovators and position the Eastern Caribbean as a strategic bridge linking the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

About Caribbean Innovation Days

Caribbean Innovation Days is a premier regional forum dedicated to innovation, research, and technology development. The 2025 edition brought together more than 300 participants from the French Overseas Regions and across the Caribbean.

About the OECS

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1981 to promote regional integration, sustainable development, and economic cooperation among its twelve Member States.