22 November 2018
Caribbean Business Hub held a successful networking event once again in the beautiful hall of the Arubahuis (Embassy of Aruba) in The Hague with the theme of Opportunities in Leisure and Agriculture. The attendance was excellent and the guests were received in a welcoming and tropical atmosphere. The organization was arranged by Mr. Roy Hart, Senior Advisor Economic Acquisition, and the evening was supervised by Mr. Sidney Kock, information officer of Arubahuis.
Nico de Visser, chairman of Caribbean Business Hub, presented the network organization CBH to the present entrepreneurs, senior officials, parliamentarians and project developers. This was followed by Mr. Besaril, Minister Plenipotentiary Aruba, who emphasized that the government of Aruba wants to stimulate the primary sector, the SME sector. In addition to Tourism, there are also opportunities in the areas of Water Supply, Energy and Logistics. The circular economy theme is high on the agenda.
Mr. Westra of PRIVA subsequently gave an interesting presentation of the possibilities to regulate the climate in the agriculture and living environment in such a way that the environment is less taxed and the yield is increased. In Aruba and the Antilles, we are working hard to solve the problem of water shortages and too high temperatures. PRIVA is leading in this field in the world, from China to Canada and South America.
Pieter van Loon, international architect at EuroLandscape, has argued on the basis of the example of the Coral Estate project on Curacao that successful Leisure projects can be realized in places that are less obvious. By designing from the local power of the environment and solving obstacles in the infrastructure, you can achieve success and thus provide the community with a new source of employment. Through stimulating and beautiful photographs of villas and landscaping, he also showed the plan for Bonaire Park. An innovative and inclusive plan for a luxury park on the nature-friendly island, for which investors and stakeholders can still report.
The last speaker was Mr. Vermeeren, coordinator RvO incentive schemes for the entire Kingdom. He proudly explained that RvO has been able to make the various incentive schemes available to entrepreneurs on the islands during the past year. The first applications have been approved and there are still plenty of opportunities to use them. All information has been made accessible via the website and App.
Lionel Martijn, secretary of Caribbean Business Hub, arranged for the closing of the presentations and called for networking. While enjoying typical Aruban snacks, old and new members have been able to network with each other. Various entrepreneurs are planning to do something on Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao or Sint Maarten.
Germaine & Corinne Hernandez-Croes, founders of Caribbean Business Hub, together with Georgo Muller, new board member CBH, have given an interview for the Aruban television. They call on the Aruban and Caribbean entrepreneurs, investors and government agencies to join CBH and work together on the success of the Netherlands-Caribbean hub.
