At the end of June 2025, members of the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator team (Clément Lafargue, Expertise France) embarked on a mission to the Dutch Antilles – with a primary focus on Curaçao – to map the local innovation ecosystem and identify potential corporate “challenge owners” and startup/SME solution providers. The mission provided first-hand insight into how the Caribbean innovation landscape differs from Europe’s, and helped forge new connections with key regional stakeholders.
Understanding Curaçao’s Economic Priorities – When & Why: In Curaçao, the team collaborated closely with the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO) and the investment agency CINEX, underscoring the vital role of government partnership in a smaller economy. Sam Kruiner – wearing dual hats at MEO and CINEX – facilitated high-level meetings and introduced Curaçao’s strategic development plans. Notably, the island’s National Export Strategy (NES) 2022–2027 outlines an ambitious push to diversify beyond the traditional tourism base. It identifies priority sectors (such as Blue Bioeconomy, Renewable Energy or Port & Maritime Services) for export development, aiming to transform Curaçao into a more resilient, innovative territory.
On the Ground in Curaçao – What Happened: The mission’s centrepiece was a stakeholder event at the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce on June 30, 2025, which drew about 30 local companies as well as government representatives and industry associations. Participants included groups such as SIMIA (Curaçao’s manufacturers and innovators association) and CITI (IT association), as well as officials from MEO and CINEX. The strong turnout and engagement confirmed a high interest in open innovation. In fact, organisations like SIMIA showed dual potential – many of its members could be challenge holders (seeking solutions for their industries) as well as solution providers (offering tech or manufacturing capabilities to others).
In addition to the roundtable, the EU-LAC team conducted site visits and meetings to get a more profound sense of Curaçao’s innovation activities:
- Showcasing Local Innovations: The mission met with renewable energy company NuCapital, which is installing wind turbines on the island, illustrating Curaçao’s push into clean energy. They also visited Algae Curaçao, a startup/SME that cultivates algae for various products in partnership with a Dutch firm. These examples highlight the kind of innovative projects emerging locally – from green tech to biotech – and provide context on how European partnerships (like the Dutch connection) are already playing a role.
- On the private side, tech entrepreneurs such as the team behind 24/7 Taxis (a local ride-hailing app) exemplify the island’s startup scene, while regional branches of international companies like Pintuco (a Colombian firm with Caribbean subsidiaries) bring external investment.
A similar approach was carried out on the island of Aruba, where the central activity was a Chamber of Commerce event on July 3rd, bringing together companies and participants. The Aruba Airport Authority—already familiar with the EU-LAC platform and holding potential challenge ideas—was present. Additional outreach targeted key organisations such as Impact Hub Aruba, the island’s main startup incubator, and ATIA, the trade and industry association representing over 150 major SMBs. The mission also engaged the Ministry of Economic Affairs (DEACI), which maintains close ties with influential companies. Finally, several corporates and SMBs (Aloe Aruba, Antraco, Qredits) were pre-identified for direct meetings.
Recommendations & Next Steps – How We Move Forward: Upon exiting the mission, the EU-LAC Accelerator team outlined a plan to turn these insights into action. Key recommendations include:
- Target “Large SMEs”: Focus on engaging mid-sized local enterprises (roughly 5+ employees). These companies are large enough to have resources and defined challenges that could lead to significant pilot projects, but still agile enough to partner with startups. By targeting these “large SMEs,” the Accelerator can maximise the chances of forming viable EU–LAC partnerships.
- Engage Industry Associations: Utilise groups like SIMIA as multipliers. Associations can both source challenges (by aggregating common problems their member companies face) and discover solution providers (since many startups/SMEs participate in these networks). For instance, a manufacturing challenge crowdsourced via SIMIA could be matched with a tech solution from a member startup or an international one via the Accelerator’s platform.
- Qualify and Cultivate Leads: From the seven sector reports, a shortlist of the most “challenge-ready” corporates and the most promising startups/SMEs will be made. These qualified leads will receive targeted support or matchmaking to convert interest into actual challenge submissions and partnerships in the upcoming EU-LAC Accelerator calls.
By undertaking these steps, the EU-LAC Digital Accelerator aims to embed itself in Curaçao’s innovation ecosystem in a meaningful way – aligning with the island’s development strategy and helping local stakeholders take advantage of the transatlantic opportunities on offer.
With Curaçao as a starting point, the Accelerator is better positioned to expand in the region – turning identified challenges (from blue economy to fintech to creative industries) into joint innovation projects. As this mission demonstrated, connecting the dots between a small island’s big ambitions and the vast network of EU–LAC innovators can unlock new pathways for innovation.
