Bermuda delegation meets entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders at West Coast technology conference

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 07, 2018 -- A delegation organised by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) is meeting this week with investors, entrepreneurs and corporate executives at a leading innovation conference in the United States.

Bermuda participants, from left, John Narraway of the BDA, Bermudian Gina Pereira of Dana Philanthropy, Chris Garrod of Conyers, Minister Wayne Caines, and Aron Dutta of Vaphr Minister Wayne Caines talks to Nasdaq about Bermuda's innovative business environment

Organised by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), the visit to the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica, CA, comprises two days of panel discussions, presentations and one-on-one meetings on technology-related topics such as blockchain, crypto currencies, and artificial intelligence (AI). The event attracts an estimated 1,200 invited attendees.

“It’s been interesting to meet people who already know a lot about Bermuda and our reputation in the business community but want to learn about growing opportunities in our tech space,” said Minister of National Security, the Hon Wayne Caines. “We are encouraging them to look at Bermuda for any business need, specifically some of the new initiatives related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. It is also a beneficial opportunity to meet thought leaders, to understand the direction the world is headed in technology—and, importantly, to see we are on the right track.”

In a video interview with Nasdaq on day one of the event, Minister Caines underscored Bermuda’s centuries-long history of innovation and entrepreneurism—from sloops, shorts, and onions to pioneering insurance products. Today, he said, that same spirit of ingenuity is driving solutions to new ventures in the fast-developing digital economy.

“The big value we see here is the ability to talk to early-stage start-ups, as well as those investing in them, about what Bermuda can offer—particularly our respected regulatory environment and the certainty our domicile can provide for ventures looking to expand internationally,” said BDA consultant for emerging technologies, John Narraway, who joined the Minister in another video interview to be distributed to attendees and posted on the summit website.

“A lot of the industries we’re looking at are high-growth companies and they’re accelerating at a speed for which they really do need to contemplate an international strategy,” said Narraway, who also heads the Bermuda government’s Blockchain Business Development Working Group.

“People have been very responsive to the fact Bermuda is tech-friendly and pushing things forward through the collaborative efforts of our public and private sectors,” said Chris Garrod, Partner, Conyers, who has helped some of the first digital token issuers launch a corporate presence on the island, and also serves on the government’s Blockchain Legal and Regulatory Working Group. “Bermuda is being recognised here as a place that, through responsive, nimble yet respected regulation, is ensuring it keeps its reputation intact as a blue-chip jurisdiction—a place where quality is always going to trump quantity.”

Tomorrow, Bermuda will host a breakfast meeting for invited guests, including investors and start-up executives. That will be followed by a midday panel discussion open to all summit attendees, titled “Bermuda: The New Value Equation.” Moderated by Narraway, the panel will feature Minister Caines, Garrod, and Aron Dutta, founder and CEO of Vaphr, a Bermuda-based blockchain accelerator that last year selected Bermuda as its global platform hub. Bermudian Gina Pereira, CEO of private-client advisory firm Dana Philanthropy, is also representing the island at the event.

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