A global market requires a global approach, and Malta is well-placed to take the opportunities available as the world goes digital. With strong public and private investment, the last 15 years have seen the tech landscape become more attractive.

This series catches up with the island’s foremost tech and digital entrepreneurs to understand what they do, and what the future holds.

(Standing, left to right) Kristian Zarb Adami, Edward Borg, Angelo Dalli, Johan Zammit & Gege Gatt / (Seated, left to right) Brian Zarb Adami, Simon Azzopardi & Stefan Farrugia

Those pictured form part of the 'Changing the tech game' series / Picture taken by Bernard Polidano

About yourself, your company and your greatest professional accomplishment to date…

I’ve been involved in building businesses and products for the last 15 years. By bringing together technology and business, my focus is on understanding the customer and driving growth. I also work very closely with early stage businesses to help them get traction and hit their first milestones.

I am President of Silicon Valletta, an association that supports the tech entrepreneur community in Malta. Silicon Valletta has over 70 founders and CEOs as members, employs over 1,500 people and has over €65 million in revenue across the membership base.

Having been involved in tech, particularly the start-up sector, it is now fantastic to see so many great companies and people located on the island, and such a healthy community of individuals supporting each other. Only 15 years ago, start-up communities did not exist locally and today, we have a thriving sector. I am also the Head of Product for Onboarding at Betsson Group, an advisory board member of SXSW in Austin, Texas and a shareholder in several tech businesses and SMEs around Europe and Asia.

What are the latest developments in your sector?

The biggest opportunities today in my opinion lie in the fast-changing behaviours happening locally and across the world, but also an increasing appetite or openness for behaviours to change. COVID is a major influencer of this change, but we are also seeing new levels of awareness for health and the environment. Evidence of this is how we are all now doing more things online, from shopping to education to entertainment, as well as the type of products we choose.

Another interesting factor is time. Only a few months ago, most people were time-starved, living packed lives, and today we are seeing people have more time, but also being more selective with their choices. This has created lots of new opportunities for businesses to not only rethink how they deliver their service/ product but also what new business models can be applied.

What developments do you foresee for Malta to become a digital island?

Tech hubs around the world have recognised that there are two perspectives that need to be kept in mind. On one hand, we are seeing existing tech companies that need to make changes to how they do business, which may mean changing their product and business model, in order to adapt to the new reality that COVID has brought. These tech companies have likely not planned for such a massive change and therefore need support to navigate through it. On the other hand, we are also seeing new opportunities for products and businesses that require support to set up and take advantage of this reality. It is important that we offer support to both scenarios to ensure that Malta retains what it has already invested in, but also continue to grow in this space.

This is the third in a series of interviews with Malta's leading tech entrepreneurs. Read the first, with IO-Labs CEO Kristian Zarb Adami, here. Or check out the second, with Thought3D Co-Founder Edward Borg, here.

This feature was first carried in the 2021 edition of Digital Island.