101: From Island Boy to Fintech Visionary - The Journey of a Bahamian Olympian | Nicholas Rees

[00:00:00] So I look at doing business as not just making a profit but following a PPP model which is people's plan of profit. And so people come first to plan and then profit. And so if you can impact and empower

[00:00:19] and at the same time, I think that is the best approach. Podcasts will come in studios. Welcome to another episode of The Value. The language of business with those of you, you can feel or invest in companies rather

[00:00:43] scalable and highly valuable. And your food, Evan Valley, and today we are talking to the Tutorial Payments Specialist, Chartered Accountant, Private Equity Investor, Serial Entrepreneur, Tooltime, Olympian, a real Bahemian Patreus, or in his woods, an island boy in the form of Nicholas Rees, Nicholas Rees.

[00:01:13] Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, we got him laughing, man, look at him. Thank you for that, Ryan. Definitely consider myself an island boy. So you know, I held the islands in the Caribbean and I won't just limit that to the

[00:01:30] to the farmers. I represent the entire Caribbean and I established a broad so I thank you for inviting me and having me on as a pleasure and thank you for that introduction and the port of the conversation. Yeah, my name is Pleasures, Pleasures All-Mine. So Nicholas,

[00:01:48] in looking you up, I've seen an old bunch of canoe canoe. There's a lot of coverage on canoe, which is your digital payments, up, plus, slash platform that you have going on. I know you have it

[00:01:59] under non-bank electronic retail payments, institution license with the central bank of the Bahamas. But in looking you up, I see there's so much more to Nicholas Rees than canoe that I think it's an injustice to not speak about. You know, the entire essence, the entire career and everything

[00:02:22] that goes into what you do right now and what you used to do. If you want we could start from childhood in a word got you into the interior and fix and everything or we could start after your last

[00:02:36] interior and fix in 2004 and you start in your first business in June 2006. I think it was the company of a fresh. Yeah, I got to just give me the I give it a full full background. So I was born

[00:02:51] you know, 1982, Grand and Grand Bahama in three four grand Bahama. My mother was American, my father's the human. Fun fact, my grandfather, my father's father was also a DC advisor to things

[00:03:10] George. One of the first fighter pilots in World War I and actually trained and developed a training manual for fighting in the air for the RAF and later, so I was reunited safe to train the

[00:03:26] trainers of the United States Air Force. So that's a fun background he then retired and literally failed a fall for Atlanta go through the known and a 30 foot slope was the first person in history recorded

[00:03:42] to do so single-hundredly was awarded the Blue Water Medallion and still can rail to the Bahamas where he met my grandmother and settled in Mangaloo, Kee and so that's the origin of my father's

[00:03:59] background. You know, so yeah fun fact is side by no but very instrumental in my own personal story it is a factor that drives me to succeed right and to focus on

[00:04:20] succeeding and building and growing when he died a lot of the family wealth is lost so weak of the family started out dirtfall having to rebuild back wealth that would have been generation

[00:04:36] of tracing wealth in history back to the 1400s. So this is something my father always told me you are being sure to fill and so I took that on, I took that to heart from all over the age

[00:04:50] and always knew that as motivation right so in the story of how he won the BC is quite quite amazing in other stuff he was in on a flight training mission during the war the beginning of

[00:05:04] the war and he you know his he was this was open cockpit this was the the victor's gunbots open cockpit with the gun on the front and so he noticed a plane approaching which he thought was

[00:05:20] some of this things were were were friendly aircraft which he flew to join the formation and upon approaching realize there were a German bomber approaching the city of London and he immediately engaged one to eight was able to shoot down four of the planes the shot in the

[00:05:41] leg ran out of ammo and continued his approach in a task with his pistol from the from the open aircraft that was able to chase the shot the leader of the formation down as well

[00:05:53] and that dispersed the rest of the fleet. And for that afternoon the water the story of the war which is the highest battle of the army that used to win for the British forces and that

[00:06:06] war was on display at the British Museum in London and the Lord asked for a visit for the three medals he's been dubbed the braveest man in the world so that keeps me motivated that

[00:06:20] you know many things as you can accomplish with you just a training focus that I've braven up to step forward and jump off the cliff so to speak you know I started swimming

[00:06:33] at an early age it's why I'm all the way up to college went through the highest stage university on scholarship made my first Olympic games at the eight of 17 and then went on graduated in O3 moved to Spain lived in Spain for a year with the

[00:06:50] interesting I got to learn the post-Eller and the language I trained with the number two sprinter in the world at the time and I went on to the O4 after the games upon which I was so

[00:07:03] burnt out as an athlete just completely utterly burnt out honestly I literally just gave up didn't have really a great experience at the last games and was going to move to Spain

[00:07:18] and just open a bar on in the South of Spain on the beat and that was my plan the next journey got a pause on my father said absolutely not to be able to get a blind back and do your

[00:07:33] options to do so why are career bad for us like this because that bar in Spain's in the South of Spain by the beach so soon I was like I want to do that no

[00:07:45] go back to the campus and then I went and did the mockery of my physical administration as you were seeing the morning to be honest with you that the green I knew more than any other

[00:08:01] piece of education that I would have obtained. I would say my father told me now you was quite quite a bit but the biggest value I got in my entrepreneurial is two dorms beyond the

[00:08:13] program so yeah so anyway viewers are there you know interested in getting into on the national business and MBA is an excellent choice to look at you know really the folk

[00:08:24] dramatic of a business from inside out and so so yeah after the MBA I got to follow up talking in the Bahamas in O5 and I said it you know I had all those credentials I had a

[00:08:37] mask to be about to do it fine on to the mind is an economic and former onion and I applied for a job at every single bank every single oil company offshore banks and onshore banks

[00:08:55] income to literally went through the phone book and I domined every single company and then every single company and covalent of the resumes specifically that they're actually doing the activities I did not get one interview. Well not one. I'm gonna let a pedigree.

[00:09:17] Not one interview so I was lucky enough to get a job off of working at a local real station. It's going and time with oxygen turn over to be quite a laughing because my first

[00:09:33] it was my first job for me like my first job post education I'm a man now I make a man in my own money in the right so I got introduced to film and then the little concept and I was

[00:09:47] a very shy guy and I was not you know I didn't make a fail I didn't get paid it was fully commissioned it right so you hired to go make your make your earnings and so other very good

[00:10:00] mentor at the time who's taught me about selling and you see art of selling and how to sell and you spend a lot of time you know money, money meetings, drilling down on us on all the

[00:10:13] key markets of making it clear at the time and pulling on different things and so that kind of got to meet a bit dull after about two years I kind of figured out that I could sell annual

[00:10:29] packages and I'd lock in annual income and I would do that one two year and not up the work for the rest of the year I just lock in and so I found myself with time on my hands and that then

[00:10:44] iterated in my head to start getting into this water business and so I started my first water company which is a roadside water depot and it's pretty easy for about a year and in any collapse

[00:11:01] I moved into that with a partnership with my father in the ever fresh water company in O5 and that actually still exists today and it's expanding and it's been profitable from day one and that was

[00:11:16] drinking drinking water so fresh drinking water so we're we did as we imagine the money-pots being processed and we ended up having automated to filling components so we eliminated tremendous overhead and we cut the cost that he dropped the cost and lost the cost for less water

[00:11:35] by 80 percent so whereas before you you were buying fire jaunits bottles for I think about five six dollars at the time we came to market with a dollar price for five gallons

[00:11:48] and they're not really a huge impact and what I did was that changed life so like person were able to you know to ask you buy more food for their families because they were sending so much

[00:12:03] on the water there was a lady who basically knew she was head over here and she'd find that for putting in the system as she had six children on dialysis and you know constant you know use of

[00:12:15] for a water she was running to 20 hours a week at you know five six dollars you know that's significant benefit and then in the middle home with six children and so she was able to take

[00:12:29] data to make things and put that into into food it became a real community staple so who dropped these units in the individual community so what we can go and ask us what comes in handy as well

[00:12:44] Tonya for sure that that business is self-saving of I'm not actually involved with that good luck and collaboration seemed with my father who received a lot of work and in the business especially were in the business I just said that but it's not it's not for free yeah

[00:13:08] right so I you know I I remember you know we opened the first of the first site and many many stand up on the side of the road with a sign that said free water which is right

[00:13:22] and I'm talking for like this is metal token that I stood on the side of the road so week every time we opened a machine and I was just with this sign for you water I just

[00:13:36] know how people people are repotting and turning around and and that was how we got the word out so we completely grasp what we want into the community because hey come and pay for water coming

[00:13:49] and fire water and so we have really gotten drained in the communities and we're going to be able to make impacts and places like the local presence and we forward it so our prison you

[00:14:02] know we were able to put a water system and that is specifically for the inventory in the time on limited access to question do you want which was a hybrid and cost for the prison if you

[00:14:15] imagine you've dropped the you know the mandate to provide a amount of water minimum amount of water for each prisoner and so now we were able to pick that for for them and provide unlimited water

[00:14:30] basically for for those in which in full life to an extent and he is tensioned within the prison itself so again like a major social we would be able to social impact right and and so I look at doing

[00:14:49] business as not just making a profit but following a PPP model which is people's planet profit right and so people come first to planet and then profit right and so if you can impact an

[00:15:06] power and at the same time I think that is the draft approach so it's being in the water businesses as well as you last that thing on my character to say or not I wouldn't say it's pain but

[00:15:20] in you know a mark on my character that I focus on providing value to you know those humanity at the end of the day and whatever it is you're doing you know what I always been thought wherever you do make sure

[00:15:34] you help people I don't know that's the cause and everything that all of our garbage is it yeah yeah we're very aligned there my my late father had this scene at life is a low

[00:15:47] naturally pay three service to others and I've adopted that as how I operate as my status school I realize we just kind of got to 2005 and he would ask me also to bring some forward from from

[00:16:01] to 2005 so it started there I then ran in a different pathway I read a book called Rich Dad for that I'm sure you've read it it's a it's a fun sweet so anyone that I mentor and I work with

[00:16:18] I always advise them to there's a number of books that you know if you recommend that that is a book changed my perspective and life and in that book it said if you want to understand the business

[00:16:33] you must have a basic understanding of account and so I was always very encountering and colleagues in the NBA and I just happened to see an odd in the paper for the 18th year

[00:16:46] and I rarely picked up the phone I call the number and the next week I was enrolled in process of being enrolled in the program I started that in 2007 the 18th year and I completed

[00:17:04] that certification is 14 in a job and I've completed that in 2006 I literally would take my vacation one week in December and I will study take a time study take a time and then work

[00:17:26] in between so it was like this is my second husband and in 2007 rather say I got my home and my first child as well and I was lucky enough I was lucky enough to my high school

[00:17:51] first love we met six days of six years and we have a very long history together now I have three beautiful children but that you know through all of that into this study work

[00:18:08] actually I delivered my parents before years in the first part of my marriage with child had about a cantha and in 05 so really this was in the middle of my NBA program but again

[00:18:27] like you know this continuing to drive forward I remember the way home was on my hospital bed it's not what happens to a life it's how you do it so that was kind of a bit of a fall back

[00:18:41] which I had to engage in monitoring and monthly quarterly testing by a number of years and a sense plan completely cleared of down for thank god in 2010 I got my first opportunity I would say

[00:18:59] to work in the fine now I'm show own you know and so by this point I would have my NBA or had you know been well into my current studies and certification and I have one business under my

[00:19:14] belt and now I'm going to have this opportunity to work with the Bahamas in an arts and security of the team which was a tremendous opportunity because always wanted to invest in

[00:19:26] stocks and bonds as I always thought that I would end up being a creator believe it or not like in college and I even played around with a bit of creating college and made some good money

[00:19:41] and then lost some good money so I kind of got like Google I'd over the commodity space and I was like oh these commodities in the in Bath and I literally lost about $12,000 in

[00:19:55] college on orange sort of bet that there was going to be an orange freeze. Wow after that yeah for orange is in Florida and after that I never invested in some commodities again but here it comes now with opportunity to work with this amazing exchange and the Bahamas.

[00:20:19] But small exchange but all of the the economic and the rules that you see due to the process for the capital market are there and it is and so the funding that you need to opportunity

[00:20:33] to work within the capital market from within the core out of that the exchange started the repository Bahamas and security of the public doors and I was charged with basically setting that up which now put me in a position to oversee design and implement a multi company

[00:21:01] merger because that involves a merger of three entities or our one software technology to secure a life in as a clearing and the repository's institution with the central bank and implement services and with connectivity to visits for the exchange as the approved repository for the exchange.

[00:21:22] Okay I had a very unique opportunity to really have a hands on a approach going through that whole process and leaving that process along with my mentor and employer at the time he Davies who's the CEO

[00:21:37] of physics and also now CEO for the news. So that was an interesting opportunity which led to me leaving got entity in 2012 to go and work officially for the first time in an accountant's uh

[00:21:55] that was in 2016 I would have completed the APCA and then I moved to the accounting firm right then did my first valuation and really got this love of valuation. So I always wanted to prove

[00:22:10] a certified you know, a graduate of I commend for men who are not anything but I love the I'm the science of valuation. I've done a three from the new government research about

[00:22:25] from valuation to audits to receive the ships we did at the University of America for my says you know two full stores. Was it an interesting broad subset of experience with was while there was there that they met these gentlemen who had this idea to create an

[00:22:45] IMA theater in the Bahamas and I decided to help those gentlemen for three and we'll work with them from many many as building that from 2012 to 2016, 17 in a period of really building all

[00:23:06] their business plan and then at the latest stages he really has lost him on some massive funding opportunity that basically picked the project off it was the largest in the history of the Bahamas re-enture project at $25,000 square foot multi-class with IMA a five-story IMA streaming

[00:23:28] and a 40-act spirit of the IPP it is restaurant. It's one of three acres in total for another so we've been working in this plan for future development and future phases. That really gave the

[00:23:41] lightball went off and I said you know what it's time to go on your own side of your step off jump off the cliff right and so by this point, let's make 2016 going into 17 and

[00:23:57] inbound in my third child part you know out of my parents home anywhere there yes you know we all kind of like in the struggle together trying to build and I you know I just decided to pull

[00:24:09] apart and I step forward on faith I started with myself and eight clients and that firm is now I can proudly say from 2007 to date we have not missed one payroll you know how fixed employee three partners and operate across multiple territories from the accounting firm

[00:24:42] perspective and so that got it over to up that one of my most proud achievement is that you know the core business that you know you know you step out on on faith you know we're really

[00:25:00] yeah and I you know I give folks credit to my team they were who came on and they were bought into my vision and you're having a schoony loyal team which is everyone's all about people

[00:25:15] are your biggest asset my employees share and profit the big big vision behind the religious expanding on the profile of technology that you have access to and optimizing that ecosystem of technology into our super app for the planet we really want to do

[00:25:42] on behind the with the new is the mac and car we have to be technology simple up and how we do that the reason that we envision protecting our religious privacy rights their identity right so we have a number of strategic investments that we've made

[00:26:02] in this identity space where we really want to birth to ownership of your individual identity you want to give that to the individual users and to move a lot as an ultimate thought protecting such that your lives in your requirement to authenticate and transaction

[00:26:23] and you're able to see what big things are up pulling your data what they're there you're rising and then obviously the evidence that we get monetized your data not just your data

[00:26:37] so it's such that it's so wish so we can also have that an empowerment tool for a cat product admin monitor is about partnerships right so when you go in a country like who do we partner with right which companies do you partner with people do you partner

[00:27:00] and you look for persons online in our values and online with this concept of improving and of lifting the lives and people with these terms the new comes along with another company that we would have set up the communication hub and with this does innovation hub is

[00:27:19] dedicated solely to providing education, integration and access to person in the community is offering by a common strategic partnership with entity such as the framework and the framework and the framework of the university we would have partnered with and run a program

[00:27:42] within the rules that will have not been able to get to a fixed up product project to a teleconvival and that is an integrated and have funding to have a partnership now with the US

[00:27:54] embassy is sync program which is around science, new culture working with a group of young students now and introducing an integrated friendship and an element of that world and so how do we provide

[00:28:10] opportunities for the individuals in the community to have an idea that don't know how to set up a business or don't know how to access the technology or you know they don't know the what to do

[00:28:29] but they have great ideas and they're great attitude and how to be facilitate that and the more of that that we can do and show people hey this is what we did this is how we did it

[00:28:42] has some technology that we have access to that can empower you as well so we can do ecosystem the super app business we are business and we up and running and selling product online within

[00:28:56] 24 hours of engaging the community within the ability to have their products published in their own website or they don't have a website, they give them a single site where you can have products

[00:29:08] and they can be paid and start making money so that's big in terms of empowering all business that's what we want to do as you apply okay so tell me something just for the listeners

[00:29:25] oh there who may not be as familiar with canoe can you does give a brief explanation of what canoe does what the business has been like for the past few years and what and because I know

[00:29:38] yeah it's our pivotal point with canoe it's as of how you want it's a look all you want it's a look by the end of the year and going forward significant good skippers that brief history

[00:29:48] and nice summation of what it does and what's the outlook for canoe going forward so canoe is a super app is an opportunity for users and so users download this application and that comes with a digital wallet the digital wallet is multi-tender all right

[00:30:05] and so that digital wallet is also connected to our market rate and our market rates are market ranges in power by our merchant services so we indeed businesses as well so we have two types of

[00:30:21] clients that we have individual clients where they have access to a free mobile app and technically did we find services to essentially through the wallet and then we have the same digital banking wallet service in the middle of the business with the oddity features of a product market

[00:30:41] code and the ability to engage and create a gift card which could be done within the network and to facilitate them receiving payment and then also staffing online business so that's

[00:30:54] how the core of what we do and then there's a hand thing that's been surrounded as what we want to refer to as we go throughout the year. And did you see before in another interview that

[00:31:05] canoe is really a marketing engine with payments at its core yes and that's on the business side so for the business so we can imagine what we do when we engage the business is we give them

[00:31:20] what's called an arm on audience relationship manager and that arm is a web-based tool that has their business wallet so it has their DVD fee and it has their fine-to-come the digital bank account essentially say it's a computer account office and it has an marketing engine

[00:31:40] so with a central TV arm is this marketing engine that enables the business to create a gift card campaign to put digital people on digital fund cards birthday clubs, tax, marketing and publishing and promote their products within the application where right now we have over 40,000 users

[00:32:04] so a small business that onboard can potentially selling to 40,000 users within a minute while in addition to engaging the world through the world-wide rep through a single site and connect to them is what we call it. But not the free API they come with with every arm

[00:32:26] packet so businesses if you have a developer you really talk and paste out into your site and that's your payment link and if you need a shopping card there's a feature in there as well

[00:32:37] for that so we move the business right here I currently say there's a lot of education behind the use for doing things like so you think about a business owner like who I find really

[00:32:53] to go and design like other business users you know to go and design a good spot down here I'm doing business gassing at the front and making sure there's no gas going out there

[00:33:04] no stock in myself for giving a view and boy so what we did is we created multi-terred assets to the from an administrative perspective you could provide those marketing tools that are actually the marketing manager then the individual persons within me and so without them having access

[00:33:23] to the banking component that a payment component is still in the marketing side that's a business so yeah we make money when our businesses make money essentially so the more that we can innovate on assisting those businesses to engage their client basis and to create

[00:33:45] their own communities amongst their clients the more we will make them and so it's it's not burdensome on the client that's the social you take it I'm going to do something that's been successful and you want to roll it out before the end of

[00:34:04] the year and it's a new that can also took parts in the role out of the sand dollar which is one of our businesses central bank digital currency CBDC so what was that like how's your

[00:34:18] adoption been and does that made payments extremely like much easier for folks on any Bahamas so sand dollar really is just another unit of payment for another unit of of measures for the the human dollar albeit digital utilizing the crypto graphics technology and block team

[00:34:43] we are an authorized and answering institution and we were the first to enable those payments in online environment and we were also built out and deployed a government payment system for

[00:34:56] use of that to be the different I will say that the job can have been minimum marginal however there's going to measure the folks we can go making infrastructure available and getting getting the security evidence right by our central bank and there's obviously a lot of

[00:35:20] education that that needs to go out as to what all the CBDC how it can be used how it impacts you right obviously everyone you know there's a big concern about the CBDC and the whole

[00:35:37] country you know elements of thinking around the government being in my pocket so to speak I think that there's a lot of some of conspiracy but but still nonetheless it's a human

[00:35:52] concern right we as human being public concern for privacy and we have a right for all these things and so where we fit we have had a very interesting to say new point into the evolution of the world's

[00:36:11] first central bank of the country and I'm actually very proud of what I think the bank has done and we approach that they are taken and that the mystery and launching that way we're clear

[00:36:24] in the communication that this is treated no different than a billion dollars which we have taken the hearts in terms of the core value system or how we develop our wallet and how we enable our

[00:36:40] users to access CBDC within our wallet bearing in mind that we want to ensure that we take our user concerns we keep those at the forefront and so there is this new for technical infrastructure

[00:37:04] to be deployed by governments to be deployed by merchants and to be made accessible by individuals and so this is the space that you're in and actively building out these real and roads

[00:37:19] and experiences so that the public and business is getting engaged in terms of access and flow what the CBDC get enabled was completed to offer the elements of all of the things

[00:37:34] right so it is an extremely efficient and effective means and modes of the user payment as well as both sales settlement and so the use of some of the iterative functions and services that are

[00:37:52] going to be rolled out globally worldwide like this is up to beginning and it is something that is coming to make a husband there CBDC that we think our new fine has also launched there CBDC

[00:38:07] and so you're gonna see the more and more and more and more of the time period and so we want to take the expertise in knowledge that we're doing out in infrastructure deploying the world first

[00:38:20] of the system to enable payments for and by government departments that is customized to the financial regulatory system of the country meaning that by department signatory authority multi-cignatory authority can flow around the signatory authority

[00:38:43] also the sweeping and the treasuring management functions of the ministry of finance and all of the very six year department is in faculty and to the design of that system and built

[00:38:55] in a way that is completely managed and run by the government and so this is the system we're in the process of one of our major international partners, we're really iterating this and we're deploying this for a global rollout you may remember significant investment in a company

[00:39:19] that's in the CBDC space as well and doing some work being west of a company to kind of bring that whole and it should be together which is separate and apart from canoe but canoe facilitate

[00:39:32] a $1 wallet within it's super wallet for things or whatever payment the obligation is whatever you want to pay with as a customer you want to enable that and we want to enable that and I'm

[00:39:45] gonna say for the fact that we're using the user and also enable the business to be able to accept that payment so our involvement will depend on it is not exclusive but it's inclusive to that make

[00:39:58] benefit yeah no definitely definitely I want to crystallize what you're talking about with canoe and digital payments and financial inclusion and the CBDC and everything with this story of what happened in North Andros so I would love you to tell that story about the Vidalized ATM

[00:40:20] and really drive for them that point in terms of the value of having digital payments and payment digital payments facilitation in Hawaii lands an aggladiol so doing it's on the on your continent on your West Africa yeah we have a lot of similarities and things about challenges

[00:40:39] the complexity of the realities amongst the things that are being all in like you'd be surprised like in Guyana, the things and activities issues and updates issues the first and living in the various regions within that country and so you know I'm just a biological island in the

[00:40:59] Bahamas we have 700 islands in here in total 11 major inhabited the entire Bahamas could fit inside of Andros yet maybe 10,000 persons live on Andros and so the community is much smaller they used to be

[00:41:16] two by buying banter in Andros and so do find know they you know the business model of maintaining a physical brand system to didn't make them pretty more on buying banter so stuff and so literally

[00:41:31] persons on an island will laugh with an ATM right so that's the only way and means for them to attach cash but unmonounced to a lot of people and their businesses education right to you

[00:41:45] have to know what is available and so there's no longer a need for that physical cash on the island by simply providing the bridge and connectivity to a digital wallet if your digital wallet is

[00:42:02] connected to a buying account in the problem and another island you can push info and move on sand and bend and invest all with your mobile phone operating within the community and so what our

[00:42:17] model encompasses is taking those cash generous businesses such as your gas stations, your food stores merchants that have high cash turnover we take those locations we put a system we put the COF system

[00:42:34] and place the dual location and you're factored me make those locations of buying projects so persons if you need to go to your mobile phone to the gas stations you can and they give you cash

[00:42:48] if you need to deposit to the cash you go to the grocery store you give the cash your cash you can and you deposit and you can move that and push that and pull it the actual buying account

[00:43:00] in the problems out of commercial buying all you can simply utilize the wallet services that you provide and not ever really after open a buying account and so that's where we really drive the financing inclusion because multiple levels that are a tiered approach to someone that has no

[00:43:20] identity document for example that would be excluded from opening a buying account in the first instance they can download the app and they can access storage of the five million dollars into the So this includes them now in this

[00:43:37] finding financial system they can begin to say it can begin to have access to the payment tools so they can now use that to buy it from on an online store in the store and have a chip

[00:43:53] and they can receive that payment from someone so it begins to start a journey of inclusion there now the next level is $50,000 and so that is where you provide your passport it's automatic verification or two points of ID, government issued ID, that is verified

[00:44:15] compliance checks and then that now may be to hold and spend more from your wallet services so you can access $ sand all a wallet and the ore you can move wallet is no identity

[00:44:29] and holds up to $500 that was a risk-based approach that our sense of instrumented to say that in order to effectively or drive the goal of inclusion you will take a risk-based approach to allowing a minimum level of fund-docness activities to occur in an anonymized

[00:44:51] factor if someone is available to date and if the matter is getting a registration out so the people that I do know how to go about the risk-based and engaging in the risk-based

[00:45:03] things that are better okay so I'm mentioning this because I saw that it was announced in a public forum but in I'll say about two years ago here in 2022 it was announced that canoe was acquiring Luhu, but for another Limpianum is this video here with an also a

[00:45:25] countryman of mine, a revolutionary dadean what was the thing can behind that and how do you see the integration going between what Luhu was proposing to do and what canoe was doing I think

[00:45:38] what we were initially going to align along the lines if I guess not Olympic spirit and value like in meeting him I saw a lot of myself and him and a lot of the building that I had

[00:45:51] mean to canoe I saw he had also in Luhu and so literally like in one conversation the first conversation we had they presented Luhu and so you guys guys I was saying that you've got

[00:46:06] to mean to think that I need Luhu we got to meet Luhu we got to talk the team and you know to be honest like I ain't the sole rock-up in canoe and just want to focus

[00:46:16] on our own interest I didn't really think that there was anything that we could align on and so we met him to write off that I didn't sure cause it was like okay wow I really see it and then

[00:46:31] you kind of texted on the side we got another call and you know like hey we built this technology that you're about to raise money to frame and build out let's just let's come together we need

[00:46:46] partners on the ground at that time we weren't looking at Canada at all you know it felt that would be a perfect alignment and partnership for us to access Canada and what better way

[00:47:03] to do that than with a partner on the ground in Canada they can replace the line with us and we can throw our support behind right and so but that's kind of like the

[00:47:15] genesis of that I think we have pretty much concluded that transaction and we are now and pretty much so more we were you know launched the dead-kickening for COVID recent so we do

[00:47:33] have one job on our belt in Canada right now and making application for our license we hope to be successful with that opportunity and short order as well but a lot of thought has gone

[00:47:47] into how we roll out this new technology that's the structure, the moves and the manner which we roll it out I think we'll just about there and that's one of the projects

[00:48:02] Canada so Canada will see a massive canoe launch in 2020 for and you know do the part in and Canada we love a other other other popular line and fly raising for that I'm going to

[00:48:18] have a lot of nice man nice no so in addition to that I I hit on another show that you well you're looking to have your operations in five countries you complete the acquisition

[00:48:31] in the UK you're looking to launch something in the US you know you're very very much an acquisition of mood focusing on international M&E currently have about 10 targets you're looking at especially in the AI department Sunday CVDC space yeah so we went on a little

[00:48:51] free there for a bit to be honest we plug the plug on M&E activity right now just do you do to capacity to physically close somebody feels so like you hear about emergency

[00:49:10] M&E great so it's like oh M&E Avenue great man you start going to do it or like you can come here first one and it's like oh you're building it's just this it's relations

[00:49:24] like managing relations is managing people integration technology so we were like okay so we we looked at this strategic suite of embassments and double one of the clothes we lost those in and we're in the process of finalizing dot now so we stopped any new activity

[00:49:46] until you could you know get our house in order so to speak administratively and structurally to be able to embark on to that phase of a business so it's like dot dot business activity

[00:50:01] kind of came before we were really ready for it but the opportunities were there we couldn't let them pass and we had to figure it out and he's kind of like rode the boat down the street so

[00:50:13] the speed and what it was very fruitful I you know we learned a lot we did acquire a company in the UK that's been investment advisory investment management space we are four additional Caribbean territories I want to announce all the three certainly alternative out is one we

[00:50:33] have done we call our weekend there there are two other two other territories in the Caribbean that we have boots on the ground now and you're finalizing the application just 10 in regular value of Google in the press so all of those expected to be announced for me

[00:50:53] in the next two to three months so in terms of the funding of these acquisition are these from it's an Lee generate a cash from canoes that like you guys just been able to accumulate a nice

[00:51:04] war chest or is it like okay well you go out and you raise some capital to to fund these acquisition that is one of the things that every on to the near are two basically in terms of right fundraising

[00:51:20] we have been fortunate you know and I would say probably a benefit of the prior history that I would have had in the accounting world and the system of the business is really good and

[00:51:36] job it up so for the new we actually were able to bring on as a fund of a funding partner is a founder of the new house internal funding you don't have a traditional I would say you know

[00:51:52] capital raising concern or issues about a taking time away from building the business we have basically capitalized the company to grow based on the vision to get the scale and so we have put in place of pretty innovative financing stock to the law of flexibility to do that

[00:52:18] and that is coming internally funded by the shareholders of the company. Fantastic okay just a one more question on the acquisition stuff in terms of valuation how do you audio approach your valuation

[00:52:32] of these targets because well especially in Louis Huskies that was a very early stage sort of I think it may have been pre revenue I'm not sure but I know they had some level of traction but

[00:52:45] how do you how do you approach the valuation of these targets that you look so aware. Well I Kevin I know you're a child at business value either so fine you know my my

[00:52:58] approach is maybe a bit faster or different than then do traditional approach that you may recommend not not sure but I look at everything from from those eyes when I look at the volume so

[00:53:15] I would look at the bottom line but for that company I have my partner who the cash is also a accountant my partner the company firm and can be and everything that all of our investments we

[00:53:27] are so elaborated on he's much much more hard knows than I am when it comes to the value and valuation and so I need that to kind of flesh out but while we're there to the day you know

[00:53:45] it's really the tune a little by and a little in the right so that's not a lot of the finishes so that by that buyer like you find that in a particular transaction devaluing to one

[00:53:59] buyer is much different than someone else it's a very ethosaric space valuation my feeling is that valuation is a lot of art by science correct yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

[00:54:21] yeah yeah so that's kind of why enjoy so much but I like to look at the particular company from the particular perspective of on the point that I sit and that music and I look at okay

[00:54:36] well which to be with the lion since we have what should be the relationship to we have what should be the technologies that we've been about combined forces on and collaborate on

[00:54:49] and then I look at first what is what are they thinking devaluates right and it comes in in a set about range based on you know my interpretation of okay what is this person on company

[00:55:07] run for the table then now I you know we're taking a approach to dive down on it now it's okay well this is what you value you're company that but at the end of the day and a lot of

[00:55:21] on appreciation comes out and say hey we want to work with you but this is all we are and this is how we do it let's just throw that valuation out of the window let's come to a thought face it

[00:55:33] what what is it is the need of this collaborative approach and then let's collaborate and that's approach it from that perspective and like drilling down to what it is that you really need the business really need and then finding that middle ground so that we can really make

[00:55:49] acquisition for rock bottom prices and invest in those acquisition provides capital to those acquisition that maximizes the value of the vision and the collaboration so we're not in the business of team for company I become the new value right we're looking at a company

[00:56:10] addressing yeah we understand you have a value now let's sit down and look at this collaborative approach let's look at which and need the has the strength and the competitive advantages of

[00:56:22] a line with up because you have some stocks to provide financing and that comes to a rock bottom approach to a line and grow and that starts really I just think of a case by case approach

[00:56:41] to evaluating that business and when things get out at the end of the day I always kick it over to Herbert and then Herbert is going to take a sword I'm a machine done for Yelp I now into a number

[00:56:54] I mean when I come back and say act wise he is just they make this company is the way to act right and so now we're hey you know let's think about this think about this and so that's how we work together

[00:57:08] I utilize that to help us make better decisions it's a collective a collective approach no fantastic that's so for the investor who's who's tuned in to this episode right now when we zoom

[00:57:24] out a little bit where would you see the investment opportunities are for an investment looking at either like digital payment space the artificial intelligence space the digital currency space within the Caribbean region I would say technology as a whole in the Caribbean is a huge

[00:57:46] huge opportunity as you know we have been behind the rest of the world in the technology access to programmers access to funding and the opportunity to deploy the solution so you have countries all over the region that are looking at digitizing the service they're offering

[00:58:09] operations you have the implementation of artificial intelligence that is streamlined efficiencies within businesses through mining business processes making those businesses more profitable as well so there's a lot of ingenuity that's going to be happening around that

[00:58:27] this obviously the central mine is a little bit too space payments cost for the payment and retail retail commerce and trade all of these things are going to be revolutionized in the Caribbean I think the Caribbean is on the precipice of the technical revolution

[00:58:45] and this is going to be driven by those that have the knowledge to create activity the access to the technology and the access to the funding resources to provide connectivity to the region and so if I was an investor I would be looking at

[00:59:06] suite of technology products or projects something that can operate I'm not value to governments businesses and individuals certainly in the payment space but definitely a nice entity and services area because we have these different strategic technology investments on the table

[00:59:28] packaging all of this into a sub fund or technology fund to have the framework for and factories to come in and get exposure to different elements of the technology artificial intelligence and identity are two areas that we are we are big in now and certainly

[00:59:46] we are developing this concept of which I can tell you about it's called Kai Kai, Kai, AI Kai, the new artificial intelligence and we want to build this out and make this a service to businesses I want to streamline their profit and this is also something that we're

[01:00:05] building in central to the new technology so aside from the investment fund then an investment structure that is putting in place those we're making available in 2005 to external investors who want to get involved but we want to make sure that when we open the door for those investors

[01:00:28] becoming we want to make sure that we've set the table essentially across multiple countries, multiple technologies, integrated solution and a fully packed efficient structure for the world investors to come in because we're looking at not just KiRB and Basin investors

[01:00:50] but also investors from the US that have tax consideration European Union and have different tax consideration the Islamic investors that have a whole different investment structure and considerations under the real law so we want to have these leaders and structures set up

[01:01:10] so that person can participate in this grand vision and ecosystem that be what it's related fantastic look at that all in that from the island boy who what's a living is a living is

[01:01:25] parent so for four years after being married and all in that group to it poor because this grandfather was able to pass on that legacy wealth and everything so when you draw from your

[01:01:38] experiences as well as a business lead on investor what advice would you offer to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Caribbean region especially those who are looking to venture to fintech and that's job entrepreneurship and they're like the best advice that I could give is to stay

[01:01:58] open minded you don't know which you don't know approach every conversation and every interaction from not perspective everyone can tell us something to do to find it new engage with a listening ear you will find the opportunity is that we're meant to you and this

[01:02:21] is essentially at the core of us living our purpose is being in doing knowing ourselves and and listening and engaging in the regular turn to the flight to identify opportunities that you would have previously prepared ourselves for and when those opportunities are used arise

[01:02:42] we must act so we must have the courage to just make you know do it and I would say you know don't be afraid you know but but manage your risk and be positive and if you can be positive

[01:02:56] and take a positive approach to overcoming hurdles overcoming obstacles that will surely arise you can surely have the task in your business and even if you fail fail quickly and try again that's the the mantra of all business entrepreneurs not everyone is

[01:03:17] going to make it and not everyone is is built I think for this life is difficult it's thes but then that comes with knowing yourself is mutually know yourself and which you want to write and what you need to be happy that would you know help

[01:03:36] significant as the rather not even engage in entrepreneurship or if you simply take a different different approach and life so the best advice is to know yourself and stay positive and fail quickly all right podcast world there you have it the future is tech with

[01:03:58] Nicholas Greets subscribe to the value at the value dot shows last subscribe check us out on youtube spotify apple podcasts cast box wherever you get your podcast and with that podcast world Nicholas thank you very much Kevin great to be here

[01:04:19] all the best so podcast world cabin studios we are out