Real-World Experience

Move beyond classroom theory and simulations. Participants gain hands-on experience in a living testbed, experimenting with sustainability transitions and "Oasis Investing" frameworks in a complex, real-world island economy.

Cross-Disciplinary Venture Building

Master the intersection of scientific rigor, community development, and venture capital. Participants will learn how to design business models that are profitable because they restore the environment, not in spite of it.

High-Trust Network

Join a curated cohort of 20 mid-career leaders from diverse sectors (NGOs, investment, marine science) and engage with a faculty of marine biologists and social entrepreneurs who have deep, long-standing ties to Zanzibar.

Deep Local Engagement

Unlike typical retreats, participants work directly alongside Zanzibari communities and local enterprises as co-designers, gaining unique insight into how to build solutions that respect local norms and ecological thresholds.

Access to Capital

Teams will compete for a $50,000 BPA grant, offering a tangible pathway to seed and realize the solutions co-designed during the program.

Opportunity for Career Growth Coaching

On-demand, free career growth coaching to enable participants to embrace the whole human experience as manifested in an intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and larger system.

We are convening a high-trust cohort of 20 mid-career professionals who are ready to stress-test their skills in a complex, real-world environment. You should apply if you are:

• The Investment Professional: You want to move beyond ESG checklists and learn how to structure deals where ecological returns are as rigorous as financial ones.

• The Conservationist or Marine Biologist: You are seeking to apply your scientific expertise to market-based solutions that can scale without compromising ecological integrity.

• The Social Entrepreneur: You are looking for a living lab to co-design and launch a venture with immediate access to a $50,000 grant.

• The Policy or NGO Leader: You want to understand how to govern locally coherent ecological thresholds and build frameworks that hold power accountable to place and people.

• The Island Innovator: You are committed to the specific challenges of island economies, limited resources, high biodiversity, and vulnerability to climate change, and want to build replicable models for them.

We are looking for individuals who:

• Value co-design over imposing solutions.

• Are comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration.

• Seek durable partnerships rather than quick fixes.

• Are ready to engage with local Zanzibari communities as peers and decision-makers, not just beneficiaries.