BUILDING BRIDGES

BÉATRICE COLLET, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT THE CHILIZ BLOCKCHAIN CAMPUS SPEAKS TO BLOCK MAGAZINE ABOUT HOW FORGING SOLID RELATIONSHIPS CAN ENGENDER INNOVATION.

Béatrice Collet knows that when it comes to innovation and success, collaboration is the way forward. She is currently spearheading the chiliz Blockchain Campus, an initiative that she describes as a bridge in the blockchain ecosystem. The chiliz-owned project is leading the way in blockchain entrepreneurship, creating a one-stop-shop for some of the sphere’s biggest stakeholders to converge in this industry hive.

“The idea was about creating an epicentre, where all the blockchain community in Malta could be in the same place, to help each other out. Nevertheless, we are really promoting diversity, with a vision that includes mining companies, protocols, exchanges, ICOs, investors and media partners.”

Owner Alexandre Dreyfus has been a major force in building this hub, leveraging his close relationship with major players in the industry, such as Binance and OKEx, to direct talent to the Blockchain Island.

To date, chiliz is the biggest ICO that Malta has seen, raising $66m through private placement in 2018. Towards the end of the second quarter, they will launch a tokenised voting platform for sports teams - Socios.com – that is powered by their own digital currency, $CHZ.

Socios.com have some rather big names under their belt, having partnered with football clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in 2018, some of the first football clubs in the world to announce long-term cryptocurrency strategies. Many more partnerships will be announced before the launch of the platform.

As Béatrice explains, it’s nice to have a feeling of community. And as she says, “it’s a shame for everyone to be working in their own little corner of Malta.” The chiliz launch pad is a high-rise, with the Campus itself spanning four floors of the building. The auditorium, which has full live-stream facilities, provides ample space for companies to develop networking opportunities and organise blockchain events, such as business breakfasts, and for ICOs to pitch to investors or crypto exchanges.

“It’s quite diverse in what it can offer, and a great opportunity to pitch Malta as a place to do business.”

There are also small home comforts, such as dining and networking areas and kitchenettes on each floor. The common areas create an environment that is conducive to developing new relationships, “If you are an ICO and your neighbour at the next table is an investor, you can have lunch together and discuss potential investment into the ICO.”

The Mentorship program is also underway, and while the project hasn’t started yet Béatrice tells me they have already handpicked a few mentors. For now though, the project remains on standby, due to difficulties in sourcing funding for ICOs. “It’s getting tougher and tougher for ICOs to get funding, and we don’t have the capacity to fund every single project.”

Describing themselves as the gateway between Asia and Europe, I ask if they’re looking to explore any new markets, especially considering the favourable tax incentives for blockchain countries such as France have been pushing.

“It’s true we have a big Asian flavour these days, with companies like Binance and Tron, nevertheless we are open to the idea of diversifying. We have signed some partnership agreements with similar incubators from around the world, such as Chain Accelerator in Paris, Bit Temple in Singapore or Full Node in Germany, where you have very good start-up ambassadors and entrepreneurs. We are also looking at Latin America and Africa and possibly Silicon Valley.

These kinds of collaboration agreements mean that tenants that we have here can go and work with other incubators when they travel. And vice versa of course, it’s a two way street. There are a lot of existing projects and a growing number of places where you can purchase Bitcoin. I would say mass commercialisation is spreading. Malta may be a small island but at the end of the day we are building global apps, so it makes no difference where you are based in the world.”

And how is Malta doing since the legislation on blockchain and DLT came out in early November?

“To my knowledge there is no VFA agent that has been appointed yet, and they are crucial in getting the licences for Crypto Exchanges, for banks based on the blockchain or whichever projects are currently waiting to be licensed. So hopefully if the MFSA is responsive enough and everything goes smoothly - Malta will be guaranteed a reputation for efficient legislation on blockchain.”

That reputation is one Béatrice believes the chiliz Blockchain Campus will also come to hold. She hopes it will be seen as a destination, a place where all actors of the blockchain can gather and share ideas. This is a place that has the potential to forge lasting connections around the world.