The Canadian Technology Summit in Bermuda: How Penrose, Bermuda, and Canada Are Ushering in a New Era of Tech
As we venture into coldest days of 2020, Canadians across the country are in search of warmer temperatures. Conveniently Penrose Partners has found refuge for its innovative Canadian partners in beautiful Bermuda, a forward-looking island jurisdiction embracing technology and innovation in all forms.
Penrose Partners, an emerging technology consulting firm, has created a unique opportunity for Canadian companies to participate in the Canadian Technology Summit in Bermuda. This week-long event was inspired by the vision of aligning technology initiatives between government and businesses in Bermuda and Canada. The Summit will be highlighted by presentations from the Premier of Bermuda and the Acting Consul General of Canada from the Consulate in NY, as well as blockchain technology industry leaders.
Why Canada and Bermuda?
Canada and Bermuda are ideal partners to push forward the adoption of new age technologies. The Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, Premier of Bermuda has embraced the idea of integrating blockchain technologies and using digital currencies in his country.
In October, he announced that residents could pay their taxes using USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S dollar. Premier Burt drove the message home when speaking during a previous summit:
“We know that embracing new technology is necessary for the future growth of our economy, and so, in Bermuda, we are making sure that we are leading the world in facilitating innovation. If existing and new businesses cannot innovate in Bermuda, they will find other jurisdictions to innovate meaning Bermuda will lose out on opportunities. It is essential that Bermuda remains a centre of innovation and continues to improve our competitive advantage in financial services.”
Home to many of the brightest innovators and technology entrepreneurs, Canadians have demonstrated themselves to be thought leaders and pioneers of the virtual asset and blockchain ecosystem. Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian from Waterloo created the Ethereum Network, the world’s first smart contract platform. Beyond the technology, Canada was the first country in the world to include provisions for virtual currencies in domestic legislation (2014).
“We believe that we have identified a great opportunity to bring Canadian entrepreneurs and their innovations to Bermuda to exhibit their novel business models in this regulatory sandbox environment.” Included, Kerem Kolcuoglu, co-Founder of Penrose Partners. “When these guys succeed in this progressive regulatory environment, it will provide great lessons and comfort for policy makers in Canada to adopt these technologies.” He added.
What is the Canadian Technology Summit in Bermuda?
The Canadian Technology Summit in Bermuda is a week filled with events to foster innovation and forward-thinking discussions between the two Governments and all businesses participating. The Summit will take place during the week of January 27 in Hamilton, Bermuda, with the keynote event scheduled for Tuesday, January 28 at the Hamilton Princess & Beachclub.
Throughout the day, 5 innovative Canadian blockchain entrepreneurs will be showcasing their companies before an audience of key Bermudian government and enterprise leaders. Penrose Partners believes that these selected companies are the correct fit for the infrastructure that Bermuda aspires to build to achieve its ambitions. Participants will benefit from understanding the perspectives of government and business leaders as they discuss trending issues on panel discussions.
Discussions will include thought leaders such as Steven Rees Davies, Joint Global Head of Technology and Innovation at Appleby and Dennis Pitcher, Chief Fintech Advisor to the Premier of Bermuda and Fintech Business Unit. Participants will also gain the perspective of local businesses towards adoption of blockchain technologies, among other topics from Azeem Khan of CCS Group Ltd. and Kevin Richards from the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA). Finally, in good Bermudian fashion, Goslings will be showcasing its delicious roster of rums to close off the day.
Who is Penrose and how are they involved?
Penrose Partners is a forward looking emerging technology consulting firm that is working to create the digital infrastructure of the future. With education at the heart of its initiatives, Penrose Partners focuses on driving awareness around blockchain-based innovations to accelerate the adoption of new technologies. The following Canadian companies have been individually selected and will be showcased during the Summit:
Global Digital Assets — GDA is a highly specialized capital markets and financial services firm that provides all the integral advisory pieces required to conceptualize and execute a digital asset offering. From digital asset structuring and design to exchange listings to investor relations, GDA takes projects from conceptualization to launch in an effective and successful manner. Bermuda has positioned itself to be the global leader for compliant token issuances with their introduction of the Digital Assets Business Act (DABA) into domestic law. GDA can play an integral role in advising compliant digital asset issuances out of Bermuda
Bidali — Bidali helps small and large companies accept next generation payments and grow their business by offering developer friendly APIs and e-commerce plugins to easily integrate digital currency payments in your app or website. Bermuda merchants and online stores will immediately benefit from Bidali’s innovation to offer payment in digital currencies as an option to its customers.
KNØX — KNØX is an institutional-grade Bitcoin custody solution, focused on risk management and comprehensive insurance policies for its holdings. KNØX is proud to offer a custodial service allowing fiduciaries to cap their downside risk while enjoying the tremendous upside potential of this new asset class.
Mantle Technology — Mantle is a blockchain virtualization solutions company that enables enterprises to integrate blockchain by simply making API calls. Bringing this technology to Bermuda makes every software developer a blockchain developer, allowing blockchain-focus businesses and products to get to market in the simplest and most efficient manner.
WorkWolf — WorkWolf is a credentials verifier offering a blockchain-based solution, providing accurate and verifiable authentication of an applicant’s credentials, such as university diplomas and previous employment experience. Bermuda is home to many international workers employed by international corporations, providing the opportunity to become the first country globally to integrate these technologies into work permits, visas and the international employment recruitment processes.
“We are honoured to be building upon the long-standing friendship between Canada and Bermuda, enabling two forward-thinking countries to align their initiatives, support entrepreneurs and foster true innovation. The summit is poised to be an incredible week, and we are grateful for the opportunity to bring the key parties to the table and make a difference on an international scale.” — Oren Bouzaglo, co-Founder of Penrose Partners.
The Canadian Technology Summit will be the first of many initiatives in Bermuda for Penrose and their network of partners. The firm believes that this is the right market for their Canadian clients and partners to demonstrate their innovations, in a jurisdiction that has written legislation for digital assets and is excited about adopting blockchain technologies in their businesses.
For more information or inquiries about the summit, reach out to Penrose by writing to info@penrosepartners.com
