by Stacee Smith
With the arrival of companies such as Circle, Omega One and Diamond Standard, Bermuda’s fintech ambitions are already starting to become reality. As Wayne Smith, head of the Bermuda Government’s Fintech Business Unit, has said, Bermuda has the potential to become known as “FinTech Island” in a similar sense to which Davos, Switzerland is synonymous with the World Economic Forum.

The Bermuda Government is urging Bermudians to prepare themselves to join this budding new industry by participating in various free training programmes available through the Fintech Business Unit.

In January this year the Unit launched phase one of its Fintech Education Programme, with over 800 courses offered and a total of 308 participants. Mr Smith said interest was growing and participants included university students, those seeking new skills to compliment their current roles and others who were in between jobs.

“The courses represent basic to intermediate level knowledge of the industry as a whole and deep dives into specific segments like blockchain or P2P lending,” Mr Smith said.

“There’s also a course focused on start-up development for those interested in launching their own business. For those unbanked, the topics range from the basics of financial literacy, savings and investing to an introductory guide to fintech apps.”

As a result of a partnership with San Francisco’s prestigious FinTech School, phase two of the Fintech Education Programme saw the introduction of flexible online courses – now accessible through to December 31, 2019 – and in-person seminars offered by individuals such as FinTech School CEO Amilcar Chavarria. Certificates are provided as physical evidence of training, guidance is offered to assist those interested in starting a career in fintech and the courses qualify for continued professional education credits.

Ashton Bell, 25, is a recent graduate of London’s Richmond University and a fintech enthusiast, who thoroughly enjoyed the two-day FinTech School seminar that he attended locally. A budding entrepreneur, Mr Bell said the experience, including the opportunity to interact with experts such as Mr Chavarria, taught him that “there’s a lot of potential for Bermuda and young entrepreneurs like myself in the fintech market”. He emphasised “the importance of going to these seminars and putting yourself out there because you might get the opportunity to meet someone else who will help you out with your dreams”. Mr Bell is an example of this, as it was at the seminar where he met a member of ConnecTech and was offered the chance to participate in a one-week programming course.

However, for some the idea of fintech conjures intimidating thoughts of complex technological processes and overwhelming jargon, but Mr Smith and Mr Bell stress that there’s nothing to fear. “Fintech is not that complicated, it has been around for a long time,” said Mr Smith, who explained that the first generation of fintech was the introduction of the ATM in the 1960s, followed by card services in the 1980s and then online banking.

“I tell people all the time to think of it like the internet of 2019. You don’t ask yourself how the internet works, you just know that it does work and you know what you can do with it.”

Individuals with various skills and backgrounds will be needed to make the local industry a success. “Through fintech Bermudians can have an interesting career, a better job, develop their own business and build wealth,” Mr Smith said. “We envision a Bermuda where everyone has an equal chance to learn, earn and build wealth, regardless of their background or circumstances.

“Bermudians have always been innovative, evidenced by our history in building the Bermuda sloop and the fitted dinghy, and by how we built the tourism and international business industries. We are doing the same thing now with fintech.”

The growth in this sector is expected to diversify the economy, introduce a new revenue stream, and reduce national debt, Mr Smith explained. He added: “As a result of our efforts, to date 87 companies have been incorporated in Bermuda, seven companies have established offices in Bermuda, 12 work permits have been approved for key stakeholders to start building their businesses and seven Bermudians are employed so far. We expect these numbers to increase in the coming months and years.”

Stay tuned for Bermuda Tech Week on October 14 to 18 and visit www.fintech.bm for more information, including a glossary of terms and course details. 

This article was originally featured in the TOP TEN 2019 edition of the RG Business Magazine.

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What has been hailed as a world-first for Bermuda gets under way today with the start of the Bermuda Innovation Sprint.

During the next two weeks a number of activities will take place on the island featuring innovators and leaders working in the fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

Expected to take part are representatives from Ripple, one of the world’s top three cryptocurrencies, and AlphaPoint, which runs trading infrastructure for some of the biggest digital exchanges in the world.

Stan Stalnaker, founder of Hub Culture, which is hosting the event, said: “This is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. No one has done an innovation sprint with a country before.

“The idea comes from the technology world where you have developers who do a sprint, where they code really hardcore for a couple of weeks and then they build something really amazing.

“These sprints are like a very furious and intense activity and out of it comes something really valuable and real. So it’s not just talk, it’s about how do we get the work done to create something new?”

Everyone is invited to attend the events. A key highlight will be the Liquidity Summit on October 18 and 19, featuring a number of international speakers. The admission price is being kept low to ensure it is accessible to many.

Bermudian-based Hub Culture launched Ven, the world’s first digital currency, in 2007. Last year it held a three-month innovation campus and beach club at Ariel Sands, bringing to the leading innovators and influencers to the island.

While Hub Culture is driving Innovation Sprint, the collection of events includes some staged by other organisations, such as AM Best’s insurance market briefing on October 16, and the Bermuda’s Insurance Market Conference on Thursday.

Innovation Sprint gets under way today with a drop-in welcome centre based out of Utopia — formerly Muse — opposite the ferry terminal on Front Street, from 11am to 5pm. Mr Stalnaker said: “It’s very casual. People can stop by to ask questions or find out how to launch an event and about the events they can attend.”

A warm-up networking event will be held at the same venue on Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere there will be a meditation workshop, hackathons, a digital identity event, and an “unconference”. Explaining the latter, Mr Stalnaker said of the Ven World conference: “We start the day with a blank sheet and build a whole conference where people suggest projects and topics for the day.

“It’s a blank sheet for innovation to talk about what can be done. People will organise around topics.”

David Burt, the Premier, has been invited to cohost the community event.

Mr Stalnaker said many of the fintech and blockchain-related companies that are coming to Bermuda will gather around the Innovation Sprint events.

“It will be first time since the innovation campus that we have had a lot of these companies on island and looking at it as a place to invest or do business.”

When asked about the impetus for the activities, Mr Stalnaker said: “We were trying to build ecosystem in Bermuda. Last year’s innovation campus was very successful and was the spark that created the fire and catapulted Bermuda to having global recognition for its leadership in the digital space and fintech.

“We have developed Ultra, which is our digital asset exchange, based in Bermuda, and that was an idea that came out of the Bermuda innovation campus.

“So we thought, how can we bring everybody into the conversation where everybody can create — not just us?”

He said having an ecosystem for new technologies and innovation was important, adding: “If you don’t have a vibrant ecosystem in Bermuda then it is really difficult to be successful. And we need these companies collaborating and working together to scale opportunities.”

The spirit of collaboration is at the heart of the innovation sprint, and the door is open to others to get involved and stage events and gatherings.

“Anyone can launch an event into the sprint. It is co-ordinated [under one umbrella] so that if you are coming to Bermuda you know it is going to be worthwhile because there are all these things going on, and all the right people to connect with and meet.”

Certain days have also been set aside to allow business meetings to be scheduled, where new deals may be struck.

A beach bonfire is also planned at Ariel Sands next week, ahead of the Liquidity Summit at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. That conference will feature Kahina Van Dyke, senior vice-president of business and corporate development for Ripple, and Ted Pendleton, senior vice-president of business development with AlphaPoint. Among the other speakers are executives from Shyft, Hannover Re (Bermuda), iCash, Coala Foundation, and Athena Bitcoin.

Loretta Joseph, blockchain adviser at the OECD, and Lydia Dickens, adviser to the Bermuda Government, are expected to feature at the conference.

Innovation Sprint is being held in partnership with the Bermuda Business Development Agency, AlphaPoint, Ven and blockchain-backed loan provider Salt.

Mr Stalnaker said: “It is not just one conference or one hackathon, it’s a whole sprint of activities. We will see amazing things come out of it; big ideas, new thinking, new excitement about Bermuda as a place for innovation.

“We’re thrilled that everyone is working together. This isn’t about us, it’s about open collaboration and getting people focused on the big picture and what is possible.

“It’s not just a conference. The conference is important, but what is going to be really great is everybody mingling, mixing and meeting. It’s like the whole of Bermuda becomes the office.”

• For more details about the events, visit https://bermudasprint.com/

This was originally posted on royalgazette.com on October 8, 2018.

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By Ashley Yearwood

Some of us will remember a time when currency was a physical entity; no other options. Trades were made in animals, food, gold, coins and dollar bills. Then we saw credit cards and debit cards become more prevalent and money become almost virtual; just the swipe of a card was necessary for money to be transferred. Now, no card needed, a tap of your phone will suffice. This is the rise of the FinTech industry.

FinTech (Financial Technology) is the use of technologies such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support financial services. The Bermuda Government has been working away to make the island the epicentre of the global FinTech, and with it bring jobs in the technology, compliance, legal and financial sectors. It could also open up new options for students looking for internships and encourage young people to return to Bermuda.

According to the government, Binance Group’s partnership with Bermuda will bring at least 40 jobs and a sponsorship of up to $10 million USD worth of university-level training for Bermudians in blockchain technology.

These candidates will have opportunities to be project managers, to manage multiple dossiers to completion; UX (user experience) product designers and engineers who can think systematically and at larger scales, something they are calling “designing for trust” and for higher stakes; not to mention lawyers will now have to be versed in “tech” to fit the role of “blockchain legal consultant” that will open up. Some other jobs that can be expected:

Blockchain developers

A blockchain is a shared ledger that aids in the process of recording and verifying transactions and tracks information of both tangible and intangible assets. It is the platform or operating system that allows digital and cryptocurrencies to be used. Those interested in getting involved with blockchains will need to have extensive programming skills.

Medici Ventures’s (who started incorporating cryptocurrencies in their business in 2014) President Jonathon Johnson said “Blockchain can solve real world problems, the first way is by banking the unbankable, and the second is unleashing dead capital around the world” at a Heritage Foundation Event on June 12, 2018.

App developers:

With the rise of digital platforms, naturally, apps will appear. These apps have to be designed not only to be user-friendly, but also to be secure and trustworthy. So, as cryptocurrencies continue to take the world by storm, and secure mobile payment options continue to become the default option, more platforms will need to be developed. Once up and running, they constantly have to be maintained and improved.

Dr. Patrick Byrne, Founder and CEO of Overstock.com (one of Medici Venture’s companies) told Bermuda’s public in a press conference with Premier, the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP, Medici will bring two to three and hopefully more of their 12 business to Bermuda providing jobs in graphic design and mainly technology focused individuals.

Financial analysts:

Every company needs a financial analyst (FA). FinTech FAs, in particular, will be expected to research emerging technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence), DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) – the blockchain and APIs (Application Programming Interface) and build innovative financial models; an exciting opportunity for those who enjoy a self-directed project.

Compliance experts:

Compliance jobs have been in steady rise in recent years, and it’s absolutely blowing up in FinTech. Compliance specialists enforce regulations and ensure the legality of activities within a company. No organisation chartering this new territory will advance without someone in this role.

Cybersecurity analysts:

Cybersecurity analysts are arguably the most important part of this whole developing ecosystem. They will develop and advance security policies and procedures in the most secure way. This job combines all of the above roles, such analysts dip their toe in the engineering pool, and have to have knowledge in capacity planning, audit principles and security risk assessment.

Luckily, Bermuda wants to be home to some of the best, with plans to train and attract more diverse talent in this industry. The government is bringing Bermuda forward on the global landscape as a leader in FinTech. It’s time to start laying out the benefits to the island itself, and looking at building and benefitting the greater community.

This article was originally published in the September 2018 edition of the RG Business Magazine.

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