Locations
Accelerator Lab in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
This initiative is now closed. This page remains available as a record of the programme’s regional response, partnerships and resources. Learn more at undp.org/acceleratorlabs.
The Accelerator Lab for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean helped uncover, test and scale local solutions to development challenges across the region. Working with communities, governments and partners, it brought innovation, learning and experimentation into areas that matter for island futures. Inspiring a culture of innovation through locally driven solutions across the Blue, Green and Orange Economies, with a strong focus on digital technology and experimentation.
Launched in 2019, the Lab focused on solving challenges in key Blue Economy sectors under a Blue Economy for Green Islands approach. Through experimentation, collective intelligence and innovation challenges, it generated insights and tested new approaches that support more responsible and sustainable development.
Our Work
From 2019 - 2025, the Accelerator Lab worked across the Blue, Green and Orange Economies, with a strong emphasis on integrating innovation and digital technology into development practice. During its six years of operation, the Lab applied tools such as sense-making, co-creation, prototyping and behavioural insights to better understand emerging trends and test solutions in real-world contexts.
The project scope included experimentation in areas such as fisheries, marine conservation, renewable energy, tourism, waste management and digital innovation. The Lab explored alternative uses for sargassum seaweed and fish offal for climate action, and tested technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning for underwater data collection and coral reef mapping. It also explored blockchain systems to improve fisheries traceability and transparency. A key initiative was BlueDIGITAL, a pilot project using digital tools to improve value chains within the Blue Economy for fisherfolk, governments, tourism partners and the wider public.
The Lab helped strengthen a culture of innovation, experimentation and learning across UNDP, its partners and communities in the Eastern Caribbean.
