On October 5, 2017, Algemeen Pensioenfonds Curaçao (APC) organized a Seminar on the occasion of the celebration of 80 years of the public pension fund in Curaçao. The topics brought forward all encompassed the pension fund’s position as “Excited about the future”.

The objective is for APC to continue to contribute through their position as a major institutional financier on the Island of Curaçao to the development and start of innovative initiatives in the Curaçao community and by doing so reach durable economic development in Curaçao.

An exciting event where interesting topics were discussed on sustainable investing, innovation in sports and the stories of successful international entrepreneur’s startups and innovation; all this as an important part of economic growth. In short, it covered investment in sustainable projects for a better and modernized future that will improve our way of life.

Changes are happening whether we like it or not. New innovative products like cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology were created to improve the business process.

During the session/presentations a few main topics jumped out:

Innovation brings changes. In order to keep up with these changes, we have to recognize the importance of education in the process.
New job positions are emerging centered around information technology. The traditional way of education is or may no longer be relevant. The education format has to change and include sports and arts as an important part of the curriculum.
Sports, in particular, are very important for our island. Therefore we should pay attention to the current problems in the system, help to come up with solutions and implement those solutions. Innovation and entrepreneurs belong together. Successful entrepreneurs are those who had an innovative idea, worked very hard at it and persevered to make it a reality. Unfortunately for local entrepreneurs, it has become very difficult to find financing locally, mostly because the investing climate is often not sufficiently mature to be attractive for investors.

The DCSX participated in an interesting panel discussion where among others the difficulties of getting financed for entrepreneurs were discussed.

The DCSX reiterated that like APC it is excited about the future. Excited also about sustainable investing, crypto-currencies as well as the still unimaginable powers that blockchain technology-driven businesses may bring to our world.

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