Stage 01
Submit
Send your idea, sketch, video or prototype online, on a basic phone connection, or through WhatsApp or SMS, from any island.
SafeguardA dated, private record of your submission.
Island ideas, navigated to market.
Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. We help you protect it, build it and bring it to the investors and markets that can carry it across the ocean and around the world.
A Pacific harbour town at first lightAI-generated image
A Pacific harbour town at first lightYoung Pacific professionals planning a ventureInventor AI: helping reviewers, never replacing themIslands, ocean, wind and sailInstalling a solar microgrid on an outer islandFig. 1 · An invention takes shapeOne ocean, connected to the worldAI-generated imageVaka illustrationSheet 1 of 15 · OverviewVKA-2026-001
A virtual invention house for a whole ocean of islands.
Vaka · Inventors Unleashed Pacific Islands is a virtual invention house for young inventors in the Pacific Island countries and territories and across the Pacific diaspora. Submit an idea or a prototype at no cost. We help you protect it, build it, test it and meet the investors who can take it to markets worldwide, wherever your island lies.
Fee to inventorNone
Countries12 + territories + diaspora
LanguagesEN · FR · TPI
Stages8, idea to market
OwnershipStays with you
Protection routesNational · PCT · WIPO
We earnOnly after you do
StatusIn preparation
Sheet 2 of 15 · Our wayVKA-2026-002
Our way of thinking
We advance the way our ancestors crossed the ocean: by wayfinding.
For thousands of years, Pacific navigators crossed the largest ocean on Earth without instruments, reading the stars, the swells, the winds and the flight of birds. Vaka brings that way of thinking to invention: know where you are going, read the conditions honestly, travel together and take care of what you hand on.
Why Vaka
In several Polynesian languages, vaka means canoe or boat; related forms include waka in Māori and va'a in Samoan and Tahitian. A voyaging canoe carries a whole community across open water, and no one paddles alone. That is the spirit of this platform.
- 01Wayfinding
Set a clear destination, read the conditions honestly and adjust the course as you learn. Every invention gets a charted route, never a guess.
- 02Community consent
Decisions that affect a community are made with it. Traditional knowledge is used only with the community's prior informed consent and with fair benefit-sharing.
- 03Guardianship
Land and ocean are held in trust for the generations to come. We judge an invention by what it leaves behind as well as by what it earns.
- 04Advancing together, remote-first
One canoe, many paddles. Across vast distances we work remote-first: by phone, WhatsApp, SMS and radio, with mentors online and kits shipped to the islands.
Sources: Polynesian multihull terminology
Sheet 3 of 15 · Who we areVKA-2026-003
Who we are and what we do.
Vaka brings together inventors' advocates, patent professionals, engineers, investors and diaspora mentors who share one conviction: the Pacific's next industries will be built by its own inventors.
Who we are
We are builders, not promoters. Launched in 2026 and coordinated from Long Beach, California, with partners being invited across the islands, Vaka exists because talent is spread evenly across the Pacific while access to patents, workshops and capital is not. Distance, small markets and the cost of shipping make that gap wider. Our work is to close it, one inventor and one island at a time, and to earn nothing until the inventors we serve succeed.
What we do
- DiscoverWe find inventors and creators on every island group and across the diaspora: online, by WhatsApp and SMS, by radio and through local hubs.
- ProtectWe guide every invention to the right protection route and help cover official filing fees.
- BuildWe connect inventors with workshops, universities and engineers, in person or remotely, to build, test and certify their prototypes.
- ConnectWe introduce inventions to investors, manufacturers and first buyers, in the Pacific and worldwide.
- CelebrateWe honour the inventors moving their islands forward through the Vaka Prize and Crown the Creators.
Films
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Film coming soon
Sheet 4 of 15 · From the Stone Age to AIVKA-2026-004
From the Stone Age to artificial intelligence, invention leads the way.
Invention is how humankind has survived, adapted and prospered, from the first stone tools to the artificial intelligence of today. The Pacific has always been part of that story: some of the world's earliest farmers worked the highlands of New Guinea, and Pacific voyagers settled the most remote islands on Earth. With the right support and networks, the region's young inventors can help lead the next chapter.
Invention is how nations rise.
- An idea
- A prototype
- A factory
- Jobs and skills
- A stronger country
- Progress for humankind
One invention, carried to market, becomes a company. A company creates jobs and skills. Jobs build stronger countries, and stronger countries move all of humankind forward.
The path of human progress
- About 3.3 million years agoThe first stone tools
The oldest known tools mark the beginning of the long story of human invention.
- About 1 million years agoMastering fire
Controlled fire gave our ancestors warmth, cooked food and protection.
- About 7,000 years ago, possibly 10,000Early farming at Kuk
In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, people drained wetlands and cultivated plants, one of the world's independent beginnings of agriculture. The site is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Born in the Pacific - About 3200 BCEWriting
Some of the world's earliest writing systems allowed knowledge to be recorded and passed on.
- From about 1500–1300 BCELapita voyagers and their pottery
From the Bismarck Archipelago, Lapita communities carried their finely decorated pottery to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
Born in the Pacific - About 1025–1290 CEThe farthest islands reached
Radiocarbon dating suggests that voyagers settled East Polynesia in a rapid wave, from the Society Islands to Hawaiʻi, Aotearoa and Rapa Nui: one of humanity's great feats of exploration.
Born in the Pacific - 1440sThe printing press
Books could be copied quickly, and knowledge spread faster than ever before.
- 18th and 19th centuriesSteam and electricity
Engines and electric power transformed how people live, work and travel.
- Recorded from 1862Marshall Islands stick charts
Navigators mapped ocean swells, and the way islands bend them, with frameworks of coconut-frond ribs and shells: an original way of modelling the sea.
Born in the Pacific - 1976Wayfinding revived
A master navigator from Satawal, in today's Federated States of Micronesia, guided the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti without instruments, inspiring a revival of traditional navigation.
Born in the Pacific - 1990sThe internet
Computers around the world connected, and information became available to billions.
- TodayArtificial intelligence
Machines that learn now assist discovery, from medicine to climate research.
- NextThe Pacific's inventors
With the right support and networks, the Pacific can help lead what comes next. Vaka exists to build that support.
Scroll to follow the path →
Sources: UNESCO, Kuk Early Agricultural Site · Science Learning Hub, Lapita cultural complex · University of Hawaiʻi, East Polynesia colonisation study · Marshall Islands stick chart · Mau Piailug
The ocean connects us. Ideas carry us forward.
A region of creators
With the commitment of governments, civil society and every Pacific woman and man, and with strong support networks behind them, the Pacific can take a leading role in the next age of invention. We are a region of voyagers, creators and inventors.
- Governments
Policies, patent offices and public purchasing that back local invention.
- Civil society
Schools, universities, churches, community councils, associations and media that celebrate the people who build.
- Every Pacific woman and man
Ideas, talent and the courage to try, on every island and across the diaspora.
- Strong support networks
Investors, mentors, manufacturers and partners who carry inventions to market.
Sheet 5 of 15 · Inventions UnleashedVKA-2026-005
Inventions Unleashed.
Ten bold ideas to free the Pacific's inventive power, from the village workshop to the global market. Each one is designed to be piloted, measured and scaled across the islands, and two of them grow directly from the region's way of voyaging together.
- New ideaThe Invention Passport
One secure digital record for every inventor: dated submission, reviews, protection status and milestones. It travels with them from island to island and across borders, and opens doors with investors.
- New ideaMobile invention labs
Shipping containers fitted with 3D printers, small machine tools and solar power, carried by inter-island vessels to ports and outer islands, so that no idea is lost for lack of a workshop.
- New ideaIsland Challenges
Each year, every participating country sets one national challenge, in water, energy, food, health or ocean resilience, and invites its inventors to solve it, with a first buyer ready.
- New ideaAdopt a Patent
Members of the Pacific diaspora sponsor the official filing fees of one invention from their home island, and follow its progress from patent to market.
- New ideaThe Pay It Forward Trust
A share of every success fee goes into a trust that funds the next cohort, so each inventor who succeeds lifts the ones who follow.
- New ideaThe Pacific Invention Index
An annual public index of patents, prototypes, investment and support for inventors in each country and territory, so that progress is measured and celebrated.
- New ideaInventor AI on WhatsApp
A multilingual assistant that answers inventors' first questions, explains protection in plain language and helps them prepare a strong submission, all from a basic phone on a slow connection.
- New ideaTraditional knowledge, protected
Community protocols, built with customary owners and with their consent, that help protect traditional knowledge and ensure communities share fairly in the value it creates.
- Pacific ideaWayfinder Mentors
Experienced engineers, entrepreneurs and diaspora professionals mentor inventors remotely across the islands, by video, voice note or radio, guiding each one through the journey as a navigator guides a canoe.
- Pacific ideaIsland Lab in a Box
Compact prototyping kits, with tools, sensors, solar charging and step-by-step guides, shipped to schools and community halls on remote islands, so that building can start where the idea was born.
Sheet 6 of 15 · CommitmentsVKA-2026-006
Our claims, written the way patents are.
A patent ends with claims: precise statements of exactly what is protected. These are the commitments every inventor can hold us to.
- Submitting is free.No evaluation fees, no marketing packages and no upfront charges of any kind.
- We earn only after you do.A modest share of a licence or of a company you build, disclosed and agreed in writing before any deal is signed.
- Your invention stays yours.If we cannot help it reach the market, nothing changes hands and you are free to pursue any other route.
- Private by default.Nothing is shown to an investor or published without your explicit consent.
- Every answer is honest and written.Including "not yet", always with the next step you can take on your own.
- Our results are public.Each year we publish how many inventions were accepted, protected, funded and brought to market.
- Communities consent first.An invention that draws on traditional knowledge goes forward only with the community's prior informed consent and a fair benefit-sharing agreement.
Sheet 7 of 15 · The routeVKA-2026-007
Eight stages from idea to market.
Each invention moves at its own pace. Some will license to a manufacturer after stage five; others will grow into companies. Every stage has a safeguard for the inventor, and every stage can be completed remotely.
Stage 02
Evaluate
Independent reviewers assess novelty, feasibility and market need, and write up their findings for you.
SafeguardReviewers declare any conflict of interest.
Stage 03
Protect
Prior-art guidance, referral to pro bono patent help, and support with official filing fees.
SafeguardWe take no ownership at this stage.
Stage 04
Build
Prototype support through maker spaces, universities, engineering mentors and, on remote islands, an Island Lab in a Box.
SafeguardFunding released by milestone, not in one lump.
Stage 05
Validate
Real users test it in real island conditions. We help with pricing, standards and certification for your target markets.
SafeguardEvidence filed in your own data room.
Stage 06
Connect
Curated introductions to angels, funds, manufacturers and diaspora investors, plus online and in-person showcase days.
SafeguardInvestors sign confidentiality terms first.
Stage 07
Commercialise
License it, start a company, or sign a supply agreement with a buyer: the route that fits.
SafeguardIndependent legal review of every contract.
Stage 08
Go global
Export readiness, shipping and distribution partners, and online channels to reach buyers across the region and worldwide.
SafeguardLifelong access to the alumni network.
Sheet 8 of 15 · Who it servesVKA-2026-008
Two sides of one canoe.
For inventors and creators
Talent is spread evenly across the Pacific. Access to patents, workshops and capital is not, and distance makes the gap wider. That gap is what we close.
- Who can apply
- Inventors aged 16 to 35 (with a parent's consent under 18), working alone or in teams of up to five.
- Where from
- Any Pacific Island country or territory, or the Pacific diaspora anywhere in the world.
- Stage
- From a first sketch to a working prototype already in use.
- Sectors
Keep the "how" private for now. In your first submission, describe the problem, who would buy the solution and what it does. Do not include the technical details of how it works until we have discussed protection with you.
Submit your inventionFor investors and partners
A screened pipeline of Pacific inventions, each with the evidence investors look for before they commit.
- What you see
- Independent technical review, patent status and filing route, prototype evidence and market validation, organised in a data room.
- Who joins
- Angel investors, impact funds and development finance institutions, manufacturers seeking licences, diaspora investors and foundations.
- Ways to engage
- Our role
- Vaka makes introductions. It does not hold investor funds, sell securities or give investment advice. Every investment is made directly between the parties under applicable law.
Sheet 9 of 15 · ProtectionVKA-2026-009
Protecting an invention in the Pacific Islands.
There is no single regional patent system for the Pacific Islands. Protection runs through national offices and registries, through the Patent Cooperation Treaty in the countries that have joined it, and, for inventions that draw on traditional knowledge, through agreements with the communities concerned. Choosing the right route early saves inventors money and time, and an independent professional advises on every filing.
| Route | Coverage | How it works | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | Each country or territory, through its national patent office or registry | A separate application in each place where protection is needed; procedures and costs differ from one country or territory to another. | Inventions aimed first at one or two home markets |
| PCT | Papua New Guinea and Samoa are the Pacific Island members, alongside most countries worldwide | One international application that preserves the right to seek protection in many member countries later, while investors are found. | Inventions with export or licensing potential abroad |
| WIPO | Pacific Island countries taking part in WIPO's development programmes | Training, technical assistance and referrals that help inventors and local offices use the intellectual property system. | Building inventors' skills and national capacity |
| Community protocols | Inventions that draw on traditional knowledge or expressions of culture | Prior informed consent and fair benefit-sharing agreed with the community before any filing, guided by the 2002 Pacific Regional Framework for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture. | Inventions built on community knowledge |
Sources: WIPO, PCT Contracting States · SPC, Pacific Regional Framework (2002) · SPC guidelines on the Pacific Model Law (WIPO Lex)
The Patent Fee Fund
Official filing fees are the barrier most young inventors cannot cross, even when legal help is free. The Patent Fee Fund, financed by sponsors, will cover official fees for selected inventions. Sponsors can fund a single filing or an entire cohort.
Sheet 10 of 15 · The PrizeVKA-2026-010
The Vaka Prize.
Each year, every participating country names its national finalists: the inventors whose work is doing most to move their islands forward. The finalists then meet in a single Pacific round, where the Vaka Prize is awarded at a regional final hosted each year by a different country.
Stage oneNational rounds
Run with a partner university or innovation hub in each country, with a local jury, in person and online.
Stage twoNational finalists
Up to three finalists per country, celebrated at home and supported for a full year.
FinalThe Pacific round
One regional jury chooses the Vaka Prize winners from all the national finalists at the regional final.
Six categories
- Grand PrizeThe invention doing most to move its country and the region forward.
- Young InventorFor inventors aged 16 to 21.
- Women in InventionHonouring women who build, and the girls who will follow them.
- Diaspora InventorAn invention built for Pacific markets or produced in the islands.
- Ocean GuardianAn invention that protects the ocean, the coast or fresh water for future generations.
- People's ChoiceDecided by public vote.
The Impact Score
The Prize rewards real impact, not only a promising idea. Every entry is scored on five published criteria.
- Jobs created and people served30%
- Local materials and island-scale manufacturing20%
- Ability to scale across islands and borders20%
- Protection secured15%
- Integrity, community consent and willingness to mentor15%
Proposed weighting, to be finalised with the founding jury.
$25,000Regional winner
The Vaka Prize, presented at the regional final.
$5,000Each category winner
Six categories, decided at the regional final.
$2,500Each national finalist
Plus full support through every stage of the programme.
More than a cheque
Patent filing fees paidPrototyping or manufacturing grantFront row at the investor showcaseA year with a Wayfinder MentorA documentary featureA trophy handmade by Pacific artisansA year as national ambassador
No entry fee, ever. An independent jury drawn from across Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia declares any conflict of interest. Finalists on distant islands can present remotely. Cash awards are paid partly on award and partly against milestones, so each prize builds a business. Award amounts are targets and will be confirmed as founding sponsors join.
NowFounding sponsors and national partners invited
2027Founding showcase of the first cohort
2028First full Vaka Prize and Creator of the Year final
Every year afterThe host country rotates across the region
Sheet 11 of 15 · Crown the CreatorsVKA-2026-011
What should a nation crown?
Pageants command sponsors, prime-time television and a nation's attention. A crown tells the next generation what its community values. For the next decade, we propose that those resources crown the young people who build.
Miss and Mister Creator of the Year
Keep everything that makes a pageant work: national pride, island rounds, culture and performance, a live televised final and a crown. Change what is judged.
- Contestants aged 18 to 35 present an invention, a business or a creative work that solves a real problem.
- Each country crowns a Miss Creator and a Mister Creator; national winners go on to the Pacific final of the Vaka Prize.
- Engineers, investors, entrepreneurs and community leaders judge alongside a public vote, using the Impact Score.
- The prize is a crown with real weight: seed funding, paid patent fees, a year of mentoring and a year as national ambassador visiting schools.
The Youth Enterprise Decade
We invite governments, sponsors, broadcasters and pageant organisers to redirect part of the resources they give to pageants into creator competitions for ten years. Ten years is enough to change what a generation dreams about.
This is not a campaign against contestants. Many are accomplished, and many pageants in the Pacific celebrate culture, fund scholarships and support good causes. Pageant organisers know how to produce a show, raise sponsorship and fill a hall, which is exactly what a creator gala needs. We invite them to lead this change with us.
Support the pledgeOn the Vaka channel
A YouTube channel with new episodes every week. Verified inventions only: every featured invention is reviewed by an engineer before it airs.
- Pacific InventorsProfiles of Pacific inventors and what they need next.
- Crown the CreatorsThe case for Miss and Mister Creator of the Year.
- Patent in 60 SecondsPlain-language lessons on protecting an idea.
- Ocean to MarketHow Pacific resources become finished products, and who keeps the value.
- WayfindersNavigators, elders and engineers on what traditional voyaging teaches modern inventors.
- The Road to the PrizeFollowing each year's cohort to the Pacific final.
- Investor RoomInvestors explain, in their own words, what they look for.
Channel launching soon.
Sheet 12 of 15 · Across the regionVKA-2026-012
Built to reach every island.
Vaka works through institutions that already exist and through tools that cross the ocean easily, so that every country, territory and outer island can take part without waiting for new buildings.
Vaka Hubs
One partner university, innovation hub or community centre in each country hosts intake days, prototyping and the national round of the Prize, and links online to the outer islands.
Patent offices
Working with national patent offices and registries, and with WIPO's development programmes, to lower costs and speed up referrals.
The First Buyer pledge
Governments, utilities and large companies each agree to pilot one Vaka invention a year. A first customer is often what convinces investors.
Pacific Invents Week
Open days, school challenges and investor showcases in every participating country, in the week leading up to the regional final.
The Virtual Invention Warehouse
A public online gallery of protected Pacific inventions, shown with their inventors' consent, where investors and buyers anywhere can browse.
Open to everyone
Submission by WhatsApp and SMS, a mobile app that works offline, and community radio partners for islands where data is scarce or expensive.
Vaka is designed to support goals Pacific leaders have already set: the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, endorsed by Forum Leaders in Suva in 2022, whose thematic areas include technology and connectivity, resource and economic development, and ocean and environment. Its approach to traditional knowledge follows the 2002 Pacific Regional Framework for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture.
Sources: Asia Pacific Report, Forum endorses the 2050 Strategy (2022) · Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, timeline · SPC, Pacific Regional Framework (2002)
Sheet 13 of 15 · StructureVKA-2026-013
One mission, two entities.
The free programme and the commercial work are kept separate, so inventors are served first and every deal stays transparent.
Vaka Foundation
- Runs the free inventor programme, evaluations and mentoring
- Manages the Patent Fee Fund
- Funded by grants, sponsors and donors
Vaka Ventures
- Handles licensing, company formation and investor introductions
- Earns disclosed success shares only after deals close
- Reinvests part of its returns in the Foundation's programme
Both entities are being established.
Sheet 14 of 15 · Sister organisationsVKA-2026-014
One family, six regions, each on its own course.
Vaka belongs to the Inventors Unleashed family: independent regional platforms that share the same promise to inventors, free submission, ownership that stays with the inventor and a share earned only after success, while each region advances in its own way and in its own languages.
- Kuumba · Africa InventionsSister site
- Adelante · Inventors Unleashed Latin America & CaribbeanSister site
- Aage · Inventors Unleashed South AsiaSister site
- Maju · Inventors Unleashed Southeast AsiaSister site
- Alga · Inventors Unleashed Central Asia & CaucasusSister site
- Vaka · Inventors Unleashed Pacific IslandsThis site
Where every invention begins
Every invention began with a question.
How do we solve a problem that keeps coming back in our lives or in our communities? How do we improve a solution that exists but still falls short? Most of history's great inventions started there.
- 01Ask
What problem could you solve today? Which existing invention or solution could you make better, cheaper, safer or easier to use?
- 02Write it down
Put the problem and your idea on paper, with a sketch if you can. Date it and keep it. A written idea can be tested, improved and protected.
- 03Contact us
When you think you have the solution, or even part of it, submit it. We will help you with the rest.
Questions to start your notebook
- What wastes time, money, fuel or fresh water in your home, garden, boat, school or business every week?
- What tool or service almost works, but fails the people who need it most, especially on the outer islands?
- What problem do people around you simply accept because no one has fixed it?
Our responsibility
No one will build our future for us.
No one else will solve our problems, add value to our resources, or invent and create in our place. It is time to stop waiting for others and to take action today, together, as voyagers always have.
- Solve a problem.
- Propose a solution.
- Build what comes next.
Every problem we solve brings us closer to well-being and a better future for the generations that follow.
Invention made life as we know it possible.
Will you take the lead and create something, or remain a passenger on the locomotive of progress?
No idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Sheet 15 of 15 · ApplyVKA-2026-015
Start here.
Inventors, tell us about your idea. Investors and partners, tell us how you would like to take part. We reply to every message.
Vaka is in preparation. Submissions in its own name open once founding partners are confirmed; register now and we will contact you as soon as the first intake opens.
Every idea is welcomeNo idea or prototype is too small. Submit what you have in mind today: ideas once dismissed as insignificant have changed the world.
Submission received.
Thank you. A reviewer will reply within ten working days with a written first assessment and the next step.
Interest registered.
Thank you. We will be in touch about the founding cohort and the first showcase.
Nomination received.
Thank you. We will contact the nominee and keep you informed.
Questions inventors ask.
Is it really free?
Yes. Submitting, evaluation, mentoring and introductions cost the inventor nothing. Vaka is funded by sponsors and grants, and earns only a disclosed share of a licence or company after a deal is made.
Who owns my invention?
You do. Submitting gives us no rights to it. Any share we receive later is agreed with you in writing before a deal is signed, and you can seek independent advice first.
Do I need a patent before applying?
No. Most inventors apply before filing anything. We help you decide whether and where to file, and in what order, so you do not lose your rights by revealing too much too early.
I live outside the Pacific Islands. Can I apply?
Yes. Inventors of the Pacific diaspora, in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and elsewhere, are welcome, especially when the invention can serve or be produced in Pacific Island markets.
How are investors involved?
Investors register their interests and, after signing confidentiality terms, see inventions whose inventors have agreed to be introduced. Investments, licences and contracts are made directly between the parties.
What if my invention is not accepted?
You receive a written explanation and practical next steps. You can improve the invention and submit again at any time.
My idea draws on traditional knowledge. What happens?
We welcome it, and we take care. Before any filing, publication or introduction, we help you seek the prior informed consent of the community concerned and agree a fair way to share the benefits. Nothing moves forward without that agreement.
When does Vaka open?
Vaka is in preparation. Submissions in its own name open once founding partners in the region are confirmed. You can register now through the forms on this page, and we will contact you as soon as the first intake opens.