WILLEMSTAD – Last week, the Ministry of Economic Development hosted the second edition of its annual Gov2Biz Seminar, bringing together stakeholders to share progress and future plans aimed at reducing red tape and lowering the cost of doing business through digitalization. The program is financed by BZK/TWO. Around 150 participants — including civil servants, companies, and IT firms from Curaçao and abroad — joined either in person or online.
From Progress Updates to AI Solutions
Program Manager Tamira La Cruz explained that while the event was initially meant to present updates and plans, it evolved into a broader discussion on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help government cut costs and how local private initiatives can contribute.
The ministry’s efforts are inspired by methodologies from the World Bank and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — the first country to fully integrate AI into legislation.
DoBusiness Portal: A New Step Forward
In the first session, ministry professionals and Reshapers presented a beta version of the DoBusiness Portal, which provides accurate, coherent, and transparent information on key business procedures — such as starting a company or acquiring property — fully aligned with World Bank methodology.
The portal can easily be converted into a chatbot, and similar platforms could be developed for other government domains.
Focus on Enforcement and Legal Processes
The seminar also addressed enforcement, an area identified as needing urgent improvement. Over the past year, inspectors began using digital tools for supervision, with live demonstrations showcasing their potential.
Two key legal and technical issues were also highlighted:
Digital Signatures: safer and more efficient than physical signatures for official documents like permits or Chamber of Commerce extracts.
Privacy Legislation: Curaçao’s current legal framework must be updated to comply with the European GDPR. Anneloes van den Ende and Ileana Schotborgh from WJZ underlined the urgency of this reform.
AI’s Role in Future Lawmaking
The second half of the seminar focused on the future impact of AI. Reforms almost always require new or amended legislation, yet both Curaçao and the Netherlands face a shortage of legislative lawyers. This raised the question: how far can AI support the development of legislation?
Inspired by the UAE approach, Tamira La Cruz demonstrated how she uses ChatGPT — as a non-lawyer — to compare international best practices on regulatory pressure and to draft legislative proposals, now open for review by local jurists. AI expert Richard Riedel offered suggestions for refining the method.
The company RISC showcased progress toward an AI Legal Bot, expected to launch in 2026, which will reduce costs for both lawyers and government. Arthur Dania explained how the bot could also function as a legal chatbot with AI support.
Local and International AI Innovations
Other demonstrations included:
Quantone Poulo with his AI chatbot Kompai.
Somesh Nagdev with a chatbot focused on income tax.
Dr. Gabriella Ras, a Curaçao-born AI expert living in the diaspora, who presented LengaGPT — a large-scale language model designed to improve writing in Papiamentu.
LengaGPT will reduce costs for both government and business by supporting communication professionals in writing, editing, and translation. It will also facilitate the creation of educational materials, including for vocational training such as plumbing and electrical work.
The model has promising applications in the healthcare sector as well, such as producing educational brochures and medication leaflets, potentially helping to prevent medical emergencies.
