For a nation the size of Seychelles, the ability to compete on innovation has never been a luxury, it has been a necessity. That conviction lies at the heart of a wide-ranging conversation with Mr Xavier Estico, Secretary of State for the National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation (NISTI), based within the Office of the Vice-President, on the institution’s history, its 5-year disruption, and its renewed mandate under the Government of President Dr Patrick Herminie.
Building Seychelles’ Science and Innovation Framework
Seychelles came comparatively late to formal science and technology governance. Before 2010, the country had neither a dedicated system for science, technology, and innovation nor an institutional and legal framework to support one. It took a UNESCO audit that year to confirm what many already suspected: Seychelles needed such an institution.
This was followed by the gradual development of Seychelles’ national STI framework. A memorandum was developed in 2013, followed by the formal establishment of the institution under law in 2014 and the development of the 2016–2025 roadmap aimed at supporting Seychelles’ transition towards an innovation-based economy.
Under that policy, NISTI’s early priority was strengthening awareness and participation around STEM education, which Mr Estico noted had been in decline. Particularly among young people. The response was to re-energise National programmes included robotics and international competitions, alongside structured support for entrepreneurs through incubation programmes and start-up assistance.
“Before 2020, we were going in the right direction,” Mr Estico reflected.
Institutional Transition and its Impact
That trajectory did not go unbroken. As a young institution, NISTI’s momentum was interrupted shortly after the 2020 elections, when the incoming government closed the institute, folding its functions into a division within the ministry. In Mr Estico’s assessment, this was a dangerous decision, stripping the institution of the operational independence it needed to set long-term research priorities, disrupting projects and partnerships that were already underway, and prompting an exodus of technical staff and expertise that would take years to rebuild. It set Seychelles back at a critical juncture. While the country paused, other small states continued to advance, and Seychelles’ standing in global innovation rankings slipped as a result.
Renewed Commitment Under a New Government
That interruption has now given way to renewal. A forum was recently held to commemorate 50 years of Independence, bringing together local and international experts to help chart a new framework, a recognition, Mr Estico said, that science and technology are cross-cutting concerns that touch every sector of national life.
The reinstatement of NISTI reflects the priority President Dr Patrick Herminie’s Government places on positioning science, technology, and innovation as cross-cutting drivers of national development. Mr Estico explained that the renewed mandate provides an opportunity to integrate STI across sectors and government programmes, not as a standalone concern, but as a thread running through the work of government as a whole.
Structurally, the NISTI Secretariat sits under the Office of the Vice-President, which is responsible for setting national strategic policy direction, while NISTI itself functions as the implementation arm responsible for translating policy priotities into programme and action on the ground.
A Strategy Focused on Efficiency
In the near term, Mr Estico said NISTI’s focus is deliberately practical: technological innovation in government procedures and processes, extending into the private sector, with the aim of increasing efficiency in government services and accelerating the digitalisation of public service delivery.
Partnership as the Long-Term Model
Looking further ahead, Mr Estico was clear that no single institution can carry this mandate alone. Science and technology’s cross-cutting nature demands the active involvement of both the private sector and academic institutions. The private sector, he noted, is the engine that drives innovation, while academic institutions, universities among them, remain essential for training and capacity building, alongside civil society’s role in the wider ecosystem.
To bring these strands together, NISTI is developing a future project to map how private sector, academia and civil society can be integrated into a coherent whole, optimising resources, building synergy among stakeholders, and making the most of the country’s financial resources. Coordinating that convergence, Mr Estico said, is a core responsibility of the Secretariat itself.
A People-Centred Vision
Asked to distil the institution’s ultimate purpose, Mr Estico returned to a simple, guiding principle of President Dr Patick Herminie: science, technology and innovation belong at the centre of a people-centred society.
At its core, this approach places people, rather than technology itself, at the heart of Seychelles’ innovation agenda. It means harnessing science and technology to improve public services, create opportunities for young Seychellois, strengthen national competitiveness and develop practical solutions to the country’s evolving challenges, ensuring that technological progress translates into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Distribué par APO Group au nom de State House Seychelles.
