As the cryptocurrency and blockchain world booms, Barbados becomes home to a decentralized finance (DeFi) project for the first time. Known as 'Bridge Network', the project allows anyone to move between blockchains in a frictionless and permissionless environment.
Founded by Barbadian entrepreneur, Kimberly Adams, the project made its debut in Dubai at the World Expo 2020 and Gitex, Dubai's largest technology conference where it commenced fundraising at a $38 million USD valuation.
Since then, the project has received support from global venture capitalists and other innovators in the space. Adams says " The world of web 3 – a decentralized open web with no boundaries nor barriers, is quite incredible. It allows us to build amazing things and access global capital at a moment's notice. We had many options to domicile the legal entity of Bridge Network in other jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Seychelles, but quite frankly, I didn't see a reason why it could not be done in Barbados. My hope is that while we were the first, we set a trend to ensure we are not the last."
The Bridge Network team is currently located across the world – but plans on using Barbados as a hub to collaborate and promote innovation in the Caribbean region. I'm excited to bring the team to Barbados but I'm more excited about the knowledge transfer and domino effect that will occur when we put global and local talent in the same room," Adams added.