Business View Caribbean - August/September 2018

66 67 We also have an internship program that is currently in its 6th year.. As schools break for the summer, our internship program will begin. It’s designed to match people who are qualified for jobs in the Special Economic Zones with available opportunities.” While building the workforce of the future, Kirkconnell and his team of twelve mostly con- centrate on attracting more businesses to CEC. “We primarily reach out to prospective clients through a number of events that we host, or participate in, that are designed to promote the Islands as a business jurisdiction,” he relates. “For example, we hosted an event called the d10e in January of this year. (D10E is the lead- ing conference on decentralization, exploring the future of fintech, ICOs, blockchain, the shar- ing economy, the future of work, and disruptive culture.) In May we participated in the World Tokenomic Forum (an international organiza- tion for enabling public-private cooperation, interoperability, and innovation in a token and blockchain based global economy), and many Appleby’s Technology and Innovation Group supports clients across a broad range of emerging technologies. Email technologyandinnovation@applebyglobal.com to find out how we can help you. Community Coordinator Swan Sandoval offers reception and telephone services to CEC communitymembers. CAYMAN ENTERPRISE CITY Cayman Enterprise City Campus Rendering other conferences on the island designed to promote Cayman as a business jurisdiction.We also attend events in other jurisdictions.We’ll be in Switzerland later this year at an aviation industry show; I was at a maritime industry show in Connecticut, late last year. So, we get very involved in initiatives designed to pro- mote Cayman as a place to do business.” CEC also advertises on its website, but Kirk- connell maintains that personal networking is more heavily relied upon. “We have a large number of excellent relationships with local corporate service providers, including law firms and accounting firms that have relationships with the people we would like to meet,” he states. “And at the appropriate time, they will make introductions and we’ll have a conver- sation about how setting up in Cayman and Cayman Enterprise City might benefit them. Also, we have a number of ‘introducers’ around the world, including in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Dubai–a network of people that assist us in promoting the Cayman Islands.” Another item on CEC’s agenda is breaking ground for a newmaster campus.We have a 53- acre site that can accommodate up to a million square feet of commercial/office space.Our target is to build in the range of 500,000 square feet if demand dictates,we will build more.” Going forward, Kirkconnell says that within the next several years, he anticipates that there will be over 500 businesses operating within