Bermuda’s digital business was highlighted this week in the island’s first in-person tech summit since 2019.

The fourth annual summit was presented by the Bermuda Business Development Agency with the Government’s economic development department and the fintech industry association, Next Bermuda.

The economic impact of the event, which was held from Wednesday through Friday at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, was estimated at $527,000 and supported 115 local jobs.

The summit brought together 300 delegates, with almost 80 from overseas.

Fiona Beck, a BDA board member, who led a talk with SailGP at the summit, said the sailing organisation represented “true world leaders in innovation and sustainability” and viewed the island as “a pinnacle location, both on and off water”.

“We are fortunate to have such committed partners.”

John Narraway, a founding committee member of Next Bermuda, said this year’s summit was “a realisation of several years of focused and collaborative effort to build momentum in the technology and digital assets space”.

“We are witnessing the growth of new jobs as our member companies scale-up their local operations, hiring experienced Bermudians transitioning from the traditional finance world to take on roles in areas such as compliance, risk management and human resources.”

Denis Pitcher, the Government’s chief fintech adviser, said: “The attendance and feedback of the event confirms that fintech continues to have strong momentum and growth ahead which matches the strong pipeline of digital asset business, insurers and funds that are looking to get licensed in Bermuda.”

Dan Thomson, the chief marketing officer at the fintech firm InsurAce said: “We did not know what to expect from the Bermuda tech summit, but we have been blown away by the incredible hospitality and innovation shown by local government, businesses, and individuals.

“InsurAce has been looking for a regulatory framework that fits with our future vision and we are delighted to be exploring the opportunity to build our business in Bermuda.”

He added: “We cannot wait to come back.”

David Hart, chief executive officer of the BDA, thanked partners, sponsors, speakers and guests.

The summit was sponsored by Hub Culture, RELM, Appleby, SailGP, Carey Olsen, Jewel Bank, Walkers, and Bittrex Global, with Apex, Blockchain Triangle, Bloktime, Clarien, Chainproof, Coinzoom, Global Policy House, Hive, and 24 Exchange, with drinks provided by Goslings.

David Burt, the Premier, was the keynote speaker on day one with Michael Casey, the chief content officer at CoinDesk.

They were followed by a regulatory panel, a crypto lending and yield products panel, a Next Bermuda case study, and a digital banking panel and funds panel.

Day two began with a talk with SailGP, followed by a digital identity panel, a capital formation in a bear market panel, a talk on non-fungible tokens and a panel on “(re) insurance reimagined”.

It closed with a panel entitled Is the Price Right for Trust and Liquidity?

The final day began with a panel on ESG and DABs, followed by “out of this world infrastructure”, “building and nurturing a sustainable tech ecosystem” and a cybersecurity panel.

It closed with a discussion on the future of technology, followed by a celebration sponsored by RELM Insurance at Fort Hamilton.

Mr Hart said the Economic Development Department’s tech education day and tech awards would be held tomorrow, with the Bermuda Tech Week 2022 coming to a close.

“The BDA looks forward to building on our success and bringing back an even better event in November 2023.”