Continuing with our Fintech in the Caribbean series, we explore the fintech space in the Dutch Caribbean, which comprises Aruba, Bonaire Curaçao and Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba, and are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With Senior Financial Policy Advisor, Emilio Kalmera, and Founder and CEO of Girasol Payments Solutions, Marwan Rozier, they discussed among other things: the fintech scene in Curaçao and Sint Maarten;  the wider tech entrepreneurship landscape; and the biggest challenge that tech entrepreneurs in their home countries are experiencing.

 

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Over the past several months, we have been exploring financial technology (fintech) in the Caribbean region, and for the most part, our focus has been on the developments occurring in English-speaking countries. However, with the announcement, in March this year, of a partnership between Mastercard and a fintech company based in Curacao that would benefit the entire region, we questioned whether we had dropped the ball by not paying much attention to the fintech space in the Dutch Caribbean

The Dutch Caribbean, which comprises Aruba, Bonaire Curaçao and Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba, are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As part of one of the most tech-enabled and online countries in Europe, and the frequent commutes that occur between those islands and Holland – of visitors to the region, and people from the Dutch Caribbean studying and working in Holland – there could be higher expectations of digital-related conveniences that would be available.

So, in today’s episode, we sought to pull back the veil on the state of fintech in the Dutch Caribbean region.

 

Introducing our guests

Marwan D Rozier

Marwan Rozier is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Girasol Payment Solutions, which is headquartered in Curaçao and provides digital payment solutions. A self-made fintech entrepreneur, Marwan has a deep knowledge of technology, payments and financial systems and operations, and is focused on developing cutting-edge solutions that have revolutionised the way payments platform operates and interact, whilst also improving the customer experience, and increasing business profitability.

Launched in 2016, Girasol Payments Solutions operates in the business-to-business (B2B) space, serving banks, credit unions, along with small and medium enterprises and large corporations.  Earlier this year, it was announced that Girasol Payments Solutions and Mastercard had established a six-year partnership to build the digital payment infrastructure for the Caribbean region.

 

Emillio Kalmera

Emilio Kalmera is widely considered one of the foremost experts on personal financial management and planning on Sint Maarten. His extensive experience and knowledge has been gained through over 20 years of combined study, living, and professional experience in: banking, financial policy advising, board memberships, and investing across the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belize, Anguilla, and England, which has fuelled his quest to help individuals achieve their highest levels of success through training and coaching.

Emilio is also an entrepreneur and avid investor. Currently, he is a Senior Financial Policy Advisor for the Government of Sint Maarten, the Managing Director of Nykal Holding and Management Company in Anguilla, a Board Member of the General Pension Fund APS, and both the Managing Director and Head of Training for the Second Chance Recruitment and Training Agency N.V.

 

Insight into our conversation

As one of the top-ranked countries for digital quality of life in 2022, and the European country with the highest share of internet users who bought or ordered goods or services online in 2022, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a very digital country. It would thus be fair to assume that digital use across the Dutch Caribbean would be somewhat comparable to that of the Netherlands. In other words, individuals and households in Dutch Caribbean countries would be leveraging ICTs and the internet extensively in everyday life, especially payments and financial services.

However, Emilio and Marwan explained what in fact is happening on the ground in Sint Maarten and Curaçao, in particular, which may be closer to the current state of fintech in the wider Caribbean region. Below are key questions posed to Emilio and Marwan during our conversation.

  1. To start, tell us a bit more about yourself.
  2. How would you describe the fintech scene in Curaçao/Sint Maarten?
  3.   Are there any locally-developed fintech products/services in Curaçao/Sint Maarten?
  4. How would you describe the wider tech entrepreneurship landscape in Curaçao/Sint Maarten?
  5. What is the biggest challenge that tech entrepreneurs are experiencing in Curaçao/Sint Maarten?
  6. How is the investor landscape and the posture of investors in Curaçao and Sint Maarten?
  7. How might there be greater collaboration between tech entrepreneurs in Curaçao/Sint Maarten and the English-speaking Caribbean?

 

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Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  E Kalmera;  M Rozier; M Rozier;  Alesia Kozik (Pexels);  Nattanan Kanchanaprat (Pixabay);  Clay Banks (Unsplash) 

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez