Enabling the Smart Economy: My Visit to Curacao

It was a pleasure to be invited to speak at the inaugural CINEX Smart Investment Summit 2016 in Curacao, with its exciting focus on developing Curacao into a Smart Nation. 

As a first time visitor from my home in Silicon Valley to Curacao, nestled in the Caribbean Sea, lying just above the continent of South America, I was thrilled by the beauty of the island and touched by the warmth and hospitality of the hosts CINEX and the people of Curacao. The island has a unique position forged by its history and its geography, with links to the Americas (North & South) and Europe developed in ways that no other place has. Very multi-lingual, most Curacaoans seem to be able to switch from Dutch to English to Papiamentu to Spanish in the same sentence, if needed, with ease. More than linguistics, it is being conversant with multiple cultures that makes the island so special.

The topic of transformation into a smart economy is a topic dear to my heart. My talk focused on how to leverage smart technologies to give Curacao’s tourism, a big part of its economy, an edge. It also provided an opportunity to showcase the AI-powered technology and smart travel/tourism solution that our venture Tiquant Inc. is developing. (More on this topic in future posts.)

The summit was very well organized, with an exciting range of topics covering the two days. The speaker line up was very impressive (if you exclude yours truly) and by bringing together speakers/entrepreneurs from Curacao, the wider Caribbean and abroad, CINEX offered the attendees a very unique experience and opportunity for learning. The various talks addressed a spectrum of considerations that are important to rebuilding the nation and building a smart economy. The size of the event made it very special, giving both the speakers and the audience many chances to interact and network, which is the primary goal of such events, and at which so many others fall short. The audience mix comprised of businesses, government and students made the event lively. The panels (e.g. "Can Curacao Lead?") provided excellent opportunities for interactions between the audience and the speakers.  In addition to the activities at the event itself, the networking events organized at interesting locales provided opportunities for the participants to engage in deep discussions and build relationships in a more informal setting.

The importance of the event was also made clear by the presence of the Curacao political leadership. 

One of the highlights of the the summit was meeting fellow speaker Alton Paas, who gave a very motivating talk opening the summit. Alton, a young Curacaoan who suffered a serious spinal cord injury as a result of a car accident, itself a result of an underlying heart condition that he was not aware of at that time, has made it his life's work to bring more awareness to spinal cord injuries and other debilitating neurological disorders, and also to promote a better quality of life for people on the island with these conditions, with his Alton Paas Foundation.

Tuning in remotely from Brandeis University in the Boston area, Professor Ben Gomes-Casseres, a native son, now residing in Boston, and author of the "The Remix Strategy: The Three Laws of Business Combination" and other books, and a renowned authority in alliance strategy, gave a talk on the key principles behind the "The Remix Strategy". Outlining three simple laws, Ben put the entire strategy of business alliances/combinations/partnerships/M&A into perspective for value creation, sprinkling the talk with excellent examples.

To cap my set of unique experiences in Curacao, I was invited, along with my fellow speaker, to speak about the Smart Summit at Z-86, the local talk radio station focusing on business and global matters, by the well known radio host Mariano Heyden, who switched between English and Papiamentu with dizzying ease and with a wicked sense of humor.  Noting I was from California, Mariano joked about my returning to Curacao again with my new California passport, alluding to the fractionating tendencies that we are noting at home (and elsewhere) triggered by recent political events. My responses at the interview were as deft as one can be at 7AM in the morning, after a number of red and blue Curacao cocktails the evening before (or technically earlier that morning).

Of course, no visit to Curacao is complete, I am told, without a visit to the Netto Bar and drinking their green rum. I needed no second invitation to rush there.

A week sped by, slowed down a little by the red, blue and green mentioned above, and I returned to San Francisco, noting the beautiful golden glow of the California sunset, with the hills in silhouette and the early lights of the valley twinkling like millions of scattered gems, as the plane landed.

Thank you, CINEX, for making me part of a truly memorable inaugural summit. I wish you the best in your “mission of developing the next Big Thing in the Caribbean”.