When it comes to digital products local business owners in Curaçao tend to think internationally very quickly for any product or service they are looking for.
Most think first of (1) Amazon Web Services (AWS) when they are looking for cloud services, (2) QuickBooks if they need administrative or accounting software, and (3) PayPal or Stripe when looking for international payment platforms. But did you know we have local solutions for each of these products and services?
ABOUT LOCAL DIGITAL SOLUTIONS
Curaçao has many local software companies that are internationally active offering high-quality services, but their local presence still needs to be marketed more to establish themselves in the local market and be recognized as a local brand. In this Digital era, Curaçao could grow its economy with these companies.
Despite the many local software companies that are internationally active, the software industry hasn’t before been seen as a way to further develop our economy. And I think it’s mostly because they were too internationally focused. The best promotion you can get is when your own people know and believe in your product.
Positive ‘word of mouth” can become an important tool for the success of any company as well as collaboration between the government and the private sector.
So, which are some of the local solutions we should know about?
Let’s start this first volume with the following Curaçao-based companies:
DATACENTER, CLOUD SERVICES SOLUTIONS, AND MORE: CORE N.V.
CORE N.V. stands for COntinuous REliability and has been offering its services in the IT Industry and cloud services here in Curaçao and in the Dutch Caribbean for more than 24 years. CORE is a company with an extensive client portfolio within the Government, Semi-Governments, and Private sectors.
DIGITAL WORKFLOW AUTOMATION: ICTUAL
Ictual offers dedicated software solutions with deep domain expertise to help solve the most complex business problems. To effectively service a sector, one must know it through and through nuts, bolts, and everything in between.
Ictual harnesses its extensive sector know-how in a comprehensive range of solutions and products for its focus industries: Telecom, Finance (Banking, Insurance, Pension funds, Lenders), and (Semi) Government.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING ADMINISTRATION SOLUTION: TWINFIELD CARIBBEAN
Twinfield Caribbean was founded in 2010 in Curaçao offering affordable innovation in secure automation & digitization of your finances. They combine high tech with a personal touch. The aim is to offer the guidance, support, and systems needed to digitize, automate, and simplify the accounting/administration process. They do this with one central customizable financial platform with select partner applications that offer a direct connection.
Due to the highly customizable platform and tools, Twinfield Caribbean can service small local businesses to large companies such as Penha, Centrum, and Trustmoore, to foundations (Uniek Curacao) and associations (DCAA), to hotels & restaurants (Chogogo-Baoase).
Twinfield Caribbean works with local Banks such as MCB, Banco di Caribe, First Caribbean Bank, and Orco Bank to facilitate the payment administration on the platform. Twinfield Caribbean also works closely together with a wide range of local accounting firms such as Grant Thornton Dutch Caribbean, Baker Tilly, and BDO Dutch Caribbean.
BACK-OFFICE PAYMENT AUTOMATION: IBIS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES
Founded in 2000, IBIS Management Associates is a Curaçao-founded fintech company that has built its solid name in back-office payments automation for financial institutions. With its extensive understanding of operational excellence, straight-through processing, and mobile technology, IBIS Management Associates today also serves Governments and Corporations with a variety of intelligent digital mobile solutions. IBIS’s client base ranges from over 60+ Banks, Insurance companies, Credit Unions, and Cooperatives as well as utility companies and governments located throughout the Greater Caribbean, Central, and Latin America.
Next to solutions for back-office STP automation, web, and mobile banking applications, IBIS Management Associates also seamlessly connects institutions and corporations to local and regional clearing networks. On a global level conventional networks such as SWIFT, and new breed networks such as Ripple, Thunes, and Mastercard for secure and compliant cross-border payments. IBIS Management Associates has transformed and is transforming many institutions to a higher level of digitization, efficiency, and compliance.
INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL PAYMENT SOLUTION: CX PAY
CX Pay offers solutions for retail storefronts, payment processing for both online and mobile devices, electronic invoicing, digital wallets as well as gift cards and digital vouchers, and crowdfunding.
CX Pay partnered with local banks such as Vidanova Bank, MCB, and First Caribbean Bank as well as with international banks such as the National Commerce Bank of Jamaica, Banco Popular British Virgin Islands, and Aruba Bank. They teamed up with other local companies to help them offer the best digital solutions to their clients such as Sentoo, HQ Rentals, and Teqon B.V.
DIGITAL ARCHIVING, CRM, INVOICING, RESERVATIONS, AND MORE: BRIC SOLUTIONS
BRIC Solutions is a software company based in Curaçao that develops clever and user-friendly software solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises and aims to build a relationship with their clients where they provide software tools that help them become more efficient and take their business to the next level.
BRIC Solutions offers many software solutions for digital archiving, inventory management, workflow, invoicing, workshops & attendance, project management, correspondence, HRM, reservations, and management dashboards.
360 DIGITAL AGENCY SERVICES: PROFOUND
Profound is a growing digital agency and innovation firm that works with a diverse range of clients in the Caribbean and Europe. Profound helps companies become more successful in the digital world by offering a full spectrum of services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and design.
With several years of success and a talented international team, Profound is uniquely positioned to assist its clients in identifying, planning for, and capitalizing on digital opportunities wherever they may be found.
DIGITAL GOVERNMENT SOLUTION: BEARINGPOINT CARIBBEAN
For more than 35 years BearingPoint Caribbean has partnered with governments, providing them with tailored technology solutions and consultancy to improve their processes. BearingPoint Caribbean’s strength lies in understanding its core business and the specific challenges they face.
BearingPoint Caribbean’s mission is to help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and developing countries reach their full potential. BearingPoint Caribbean specializes in the digitalization of governments and offers technology solutions that make public services better, faster, and smarter. With technology as a catalyst, they use our expertise and knowledge to transform small-scale communities and developing countries and help them move forward.
RENTAL SOFTWARE: HQ RENTAL SOFTWARE
HQ Rental Software offers software solutions for Online Reservations, Fleet Management, Self-Service Car Rental, and Telematics. HQ Rental Software is one of the most popular solutions in the rental industry with more than 400 clients in over 65 countries worldwide.
HQ Rental Software is a complete software suite that covers online bookings, contract management, fleet management, telematics, reporting, and much more. HQ Rental Software also integrates with more than 50 other software solutions offering lots of added value to the rental company.
IT INFRASTRUCTURE: INFOTRANS
Probably one of the most known IT companies on the island InfoTrans has been a trusted ICT partner in the Caribbean and South America for more than 25 years, committed to enabling customer excellence with ICT infrastructure solutions.
Their solution portfolio builds on industry-defining, innovative, and proven technology platforms of our business partners that benefit from continuous and significant investments in research and development. They provide the full range of services, allowing them to act as a “one-stop shop” such as consultancy, assessment, design, implementation, monitoring, support, and lease.
THE CURAÇAO SOFTWARE INDUSTRY
These are quite impressive companies to explore and consider acquiring their services. But there are many more companies in the industry that we may explore in future publications. In Curaçao, there are two organizations where you can find more information about local software companies, SIMIA and the Curacao Fintech Association.
SIMIA is the Papiamentu word for seed. Seeds are meant to grow into a tree and give fruits. SIMIA was founded on November 4th, 2020, as an initiative of 11 Curaçao based software companies, and in 2023 the number of members increased to 14. SIMIA aims to harness the collaborative efforts between the software companies to further advance the development of our local software industry, help new software companies to export, increase our net export GDP, and improve the well-being of our citizens.
The Curacao Fintech Association promotes and supports Innovative Payment Platforms. The Association was founded by the following four local FinTech companies, Profound, IBIS Management & Associates, CX Pay, and Ictual.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Having the option to choose a local solution is an important advantage to consider by any local SME, large corporation, and even the local government. Especially when the product or service is of good quality, the right thing to do is to support our local companies that are able to compete with international markets.
Curaçao doesn’t only shine in sports and arts, but it has a high potential to shine more in the digital era. It’s very remarkable how our services are successful overseas but except for a few software companies almost most companies are invisible to the public.
Further local government should also take advantage of the provided services to improve their own public services and the private sector should also consider investing in these digital solutions and support our local entrepreneurs.
