Maltas Tech Startup Ecosystem

00:00 → 00:04

Businesses or to relocate, permanently to Malta?

00:04 → 00:06

It's really hard for me to believe that,

00:06 → 00:10

going to Malta requires any encouragement.

00:10 → 00:13

The weather in Poland today is just

00:13 → 00:16

disastrous, almost like a horror.

00:17 → 00:20

Anyways, if you could tell us all the

00:20 → 00:23

few words what Dixcart is actually doing and what kind of

00:23 → 00:27

help could be potentially needed while entering Malta

00:27 → 00:29

as a business.

00:30 → 00:30

Perfect.

00:30 → 00:32

So thank you for the opportunity and thank you for

00:32 → 00:34

everyone else tuning in.

00:34 → 00:36

Just to complicate matters,

00:36 → 00:38

the accent you're hearing is South African,

00:38 → 00:42

But I'm currently in Dubai, I'm technically based in Malta.

00:42 → 00:43

Alright.

00:43 → 00:46

So d CARD is a family owned group of companies.

00:46 → 00:49

We're in nine countries around the world.

00:49 → 00:53

And so in Malta, we're licensed by the Malta Financial Services

00:53 → 00:56

Authority. So we can set up companies.

00:56 → 00:58

We can manage the companies.

00:58 → 01:00

We can do any licensing application,

01:00 → 01:02

any patent registrations.

01:03 → 01:06

And then we also have a license to market all the citizenship

01:06 → 01:09

and residency routes into Malta.

01:09 → 01:12

And we are licensed to provide trustee and fiduciary

01:12 → 01:15

services for Maltese companies.

01:15 → 01:16

So, Michael, to answer your question,

01:16 → 01:20

to set up a Maltese company, it's very straightforward.

01:20 → 01:25

So, basically, you need to put in two hundred and fifty euros

01:25 → 01:29

of share capital, and we can do everything remotely.

01:29 → 01:31

So, you know, you can send us your documents.

01:31 → 01:32

We will verify you.

01:32 → 01:34

We will our compliance team will onboard you.

01:34 → 01:37

Once we're happy with all the information,

01:37 → 01:38

we can set up the company.

01:38 → 01:40

There's no need for you to come to Malta.

01:40 → 01:42

So it's quite straightforward.

01:43 → 01:46

Even getting a bank account, you don't need to visit Malta.

01:46 → 01:48

So, basically, everything will happen remotely.

01:48 → 01:49

Once the company is open,

01:49 → 01:51

we would need to receive all the documents you you

01:51 → 01:54

submitted, in hard copy, but that could be

01:54 → 01:56

sent with a courier.

01:56 → 01:58

So it's quite a business friendly jurisdiction,

01:58 → 02:00

to start operations.

02:01 → 02:04

Okay. Thank thank you very much for this.

02:04 → 02:08

It sounds like a extremely friendly environment for

02:08 → 02:11

almost every sort of businesses that can be run remotely.

02:11 → 02:12

Yeah?

02:12 → 02:15

Because it's very, very hard to say in modern

02:15 → 02:20

economy that, you know, the business is

02:20 → 02:23

allocated or associated in just one place.

02:23 → 02:23

Yeah?

02:23 → 02:26

Even if this is something, let's say, more traditional, obviously,

02:26 → 02:29

there are so many opportunities to export or to provide

02:29 → 02:31

services consultancies remotely.

02:31 → 02:34

So I can imagine that establishing headquarters in

02:34 → 02:37

Malta may be very, very attractive option.

02:38 → 02:42

Question would be, since I am from a little bit from the

02:42 → 02:46

IT vertical, what are the specifics of the IT market

02:46 → 02:48

in Malta?

02:48 → 02:50

Is it more dominated, let's say,

02:50 → 02:53

by startups looking for venture capital or

02:53 → 02:55

let's say digital agencies?

02:55 → 02:58

How does it look like from your perspective?

02:58 → 03:01

Well, in Malta, actually, it's such a broad range.

03:01 → 03:05

You can start with gaming companies, you know,

03:05 → 03:09

the affiliates that work with gaming companies to software developers.

03:10 → 03:14

There's even if you look at new technologies like AI,

03:14 → 03:18

artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Internet of

03:18 → 03:21

things, anything that you can do manufacturing.

03:21 → 03:24

We add high value, to any minutes, but, you know,

03:24 → 03:26

that's a high value manufacturing,

03:26 → 03:28

is very popular in Malta.

03:29 → 03:32

The agency in charge of, promoting that is called,

03:32 → 03:34

Malta Enterprise.

03:34 → 03:37

And Malta Enterprise have there's so many,

03:38 → 03:39

funding opportunities.

03:39 → 03:42

There's start up, capital.

03:42 → 03:45

There's cash back on capital expenditure.

03:45 → 03:46

There's soft loans.

03:46 → 03:50

So especially if you're going into the IT sector,

03:50 → 03:53

there's a lot of funding that's available for start ups.

03:53 → 03:56

So Malta is the perfect start up hub.

03:56 → 03:59

And then once you've got a Maltese company, you know,

03:59 → 04:00

we can help you.

04:00 → 04:00

So like you said,

04:00 → 04:03

work remotely and and have your headquarters in Malta.

04:03 → 04:05

That is very possible.

04:06 → 04:08

One thing to keep to consider,

04:08 → 04:12

when you do this is that a company is tax resident where

04:12 → 04:14

the decisions are being taken.

04:14 → 04:18

So what we provide as DCA is we offer so I'll sit on your board

04:18 → 04:22

or one of our other directors will sit on your board of camp on your company.

04:22 → 04:25

I'm resident in Malta. There's other resident directors.

04:25 → 04:28

So when you look at the structure,

04:29 → 04:32

you have local Maltese resident directors.

04:32 → 04:35

So the decisions that the directors are making are being

04:35 → 04:36

made in Malta,

04:36 → 04:38

which means the management and control sits in Malta.

04:38 → 04:41

So the company is tax resident in Malta.

04:41 → 04:42

If, for instance,

04:42 → 04:45

you live in Portugal and you're the only director and you live

04:45 → 04:46

you don't leave Portugal,

04:46 → 04:48

then the company is being managed from Portugal.

04:48 → 04:50

Even though it's a Maltese company,

04:50 → 04:53

it will become tax resident in Portugal for instance.

04:53 → 04:55

So it's just something to consider.

04:57 → 05:00

Especially for a country's directions with let's say

05:00 → 05:03

lesser attractive tax system, yeah,

05:03 → 05:06

which is kind of characteristics locally,

05:06 → 05:09

just like the ugly weather.

05:12 → 05:16

Prior to our call, we had an opportunity to discuss

05:16 → 05:17

once or twice, let's say,

05:17 → 05:20

forms of investments that the startup,

05:20 → 05:23

established in Malta may expect.

05:23 → 05:26

You have allowed outlined several options here.

05:26 → 05:28

If you could put a little bit of light of them,

05:28 → 05:31

that would be, very helpful.

05:31 → 05:31

Sure.

05:31 → 05:34

So let and like I said, you know, when you come to us,

05:34 → 05:36

we will set up set up your company,

05:36 → 05:38

and we will help you with the funding process,

05:38 → 05:42

the application process, any licensing that you need to do.

05:42 → 05:46

If you have intellectual property that you'd like to

05:46 → 05:47

register in Malta,

05:48 → 05:50

Half of our office are accountants.

05:50 → 05:53

So I'm an accountant, South African chartered accountant,

05:53 → 05:56

but a large part of our staff in Malta are licensed and and

05:56 → 06:00

qualified lawyers, so we can help you with any legal

06:00 → 06:01

matters, in Malta.

06:02 → 06:06

Now how does the funding work in Malta is that we need to

06:06 → 06:08

make sure that you select the right options.

06:08 → 06:10

So you it's not that you can go from, you know,

06:10 → 06:13

from a menu and say, I want a, b, c, and d.

06:13 → 06:15

You need to see which one works the best,

06:15 → 06:17

and we we'll give you the most funding.

06:17 → 06:19

Because once you've applied for the funding,

06:19 → 06:23

it sort of excludes you from getting for for applying for other funding.

06:23 → 06:26

And that's why we come into play because we will sit with

06:26 → 06:29

you and and work through your business plan work on your

06:29 → 06:30

business plan with you,

06:31 → 06:33

and then go speak with the agency to see which ones would

06:33 → 06:35

would work best for you.

06:35 → 06:39

There's start up funding in that if you're quite capital

06:39 → 06:41

intensive, and you have to you know,

06:41 → 06:42

you're going to manufacturing,

06:43 → 06:47

there you can get up to, forty percent cashback,

06:47 → 06:49

of your capital expenditure.

06:49 → 06:51

And it depends on when you apply.

06:51 → 06:54

So if you apply and you wait for the for the grant to be

06:54 → 06:56

given to you, then it's cashback.

06:56 → 06:58

If you don't have time and you have to start, you can start,

06:58 → 07:02

but then the the grant will be in the form of tax credits.

07:02 → 07:03

So, you know, again,

07:03 → 07:06

you need to make sure that you consult a local professional

07:06 → 07:09

when you before you you start operations.

07:09 → 07:11

So there's start up funding.

07:11 → 07:14

There is research and development funding.

07:14 → 07:18

So if you want to develop new software and you you

07:18 → 07:21

wanna design it, but it has to be a new new start up,

07:21 → 07:23

and it has to be some new software.

07:23 → 07:25

Software. So you can't have been working on it for a while.

07:25 → 07:28

Okay. So there's some rules around that.

07:28 → 07:31

So then you have the start of funding,

07:31 → 07:32

the the research and development.

07:32 → 07:35

There's even if you wanna do a feasibility study.

07:35 → 07:37

So if you think that it may or may not work,

07:38 → 07:39

there's also money available for that.

07:39 → 07:43

So multi enterprise have some money that's set aside that you

07:43 → 07:45

can, apply for funding,

07:45 → 07:48

see if you're gonna get it to do the the groundwork,

07:50 → 07:51

and then you can you can start.

07:51 → 07:54

The good thing with multi enterprise is that you don't

07:54 → 07:56

need to set up a multi's company,

07:56 → 07:59

go through all the hassles, all the costs to set up a company,

07:59 → 08:02

and then find out that you can't get funding and it doesn't work.

08:02 → 08:05

So we we will onboard you.

08:05 → 08:08

So you'll have to pay our fees because as a corporate service

08:08 → 08:10

provider and being licensed in Malta,

08:10 → 08:14

we would need to make sure that you're a good person and there

08:14 → 08:17

isn't any reason why not why we shouldn't be dealing with you.

08:17 → 08:19

Now once we've onboarded you and our compliance team are

08:19 → 08:23

happy with you, then we can go to Malta, Enterprise.

08:23 → 08:27

They are happy to offer funding and start the process to

08:27 → 08:30

go through the funding approval process even though the company

08:30 → 08:31

is not registered.

08:31 → 08:35

Obviously, then once the company is registered either the funding is approved,

08:35 → 08:37

then you can go ahead and register the company with the

08:37 → 08:39

multi business registry.

08:39 → 08:41

But it is nice in the sense that you don't have to spend

08:41 → 08:42

all that money to have a company,

08:42 → 08:43

and then you can't get the funding.

08:43 → 08:47

So then you have to liquidate the company and incur further costs.

08:48 → 08:51

For instance so there's the one of the things I just want I

08:51 → 08:54

wanted to mention is that if you are a normal company,

08:54 → 08:58

you can get up to two hundred thousand euros in a government grant.

08:58 → 09:01

But if you're in in technology, innovation,

09:01 → 09:04

any of the new technologies or high manufacturing,

09:04 → 09:06

high value manufacturing,

09:06 → 09:07

then you can get up to eight hundred thousand.

09:07 → 09:11

So it's quite a substantial amount for a start up.

09:11 → 09:14

And then lastly, the I mean, there's more,

09:14 → 09:16

but the ones that I think might be interesting to your your

09:16 → 09:19

this audience is also business development.

09:19 → 09:21

So you get

09:21 → 09:23

I can't remember the amount exactly now,

09:23 → 09:26

but you do get an amount from the Maltese government to go

09:26 → 09:29

out and market your product and do business development to get

09:29 → 09:33

the the product off the off the the shelves off the ground.

09:33 → 09:38

So, you know, this is just a high level to show you that there is lots of funding.

09:38 → 09:41

Malta as a government really wants to push,

09:41 → 09:43

the technology field.

09:43 → 09:45

The regulators have an open door.

09:45 → 09:49

I was actually at the expo here in Dubai,

09:49 → 09:52

and I I had a brief meeting with Malta Enterprise,

09:52 → 09:54

and we have landed I was spending half an hour just

09:54 → 09:57

talking about the business and and the opportunities that's out there.

09:57 → 10:01

So the agency is very business friendly and and very open to chat.

10:02 → 10:06

Well, sounds very promising and sounds extremely helpful.

10:08 → 10:13

I believe that you had a chance to at least shadow several, let's say,

10:13 → 10:18

funding, processes, performed by startups for startups.

10:18 → 10:21

What are the good practices or what are, let's say,

10:21 → 10:26

the most important assets, at the hand of a startup

10:26 → 10:28

founder in order to receive this fund?

10:28 → 10:29

Yeah?

10:29 → 10:32

My clientele, they may come up just with an idea,

10:32 → 10:35

but some of them, for example, they do not have much assets,

10:35 → 10:38

but they perform very in-depth research on their, for example,

10:38 → 10:42

on their final market, on their potential users, and so on.

10:42 → 10:44

They have a strong proof that they, for example,

10:44 → 10:50

recognize the need because lack of need is usually the most often

10:50 → 10:52

reason why startups fail.

10:52 → 10:54

How does it look like from your perspective?

10:55 → 10:57

So multi enterprise is quite, like I said,

10:57 → 11:00

progressive in that they look at the business plan.

11:00 → 11:04

So because it's a grant, there's no security needed.

11:04 → 11:07

So it's not that you have to say that I'll put in ten

11:07 → 11:09

thousand, you put in ten thousand.

11:09 → 11:12

They look at the grant, they look at the business plan.

11:12 → 11:15

So that's why you would need a professional like ourselves to

11:15 → 11:17

help you with the business plan to make sure that you cover all

11:17 → 11:20

the points that the agency would look at.

11:21 → 11:25

But, also, what's nice with the agency is that they they're open and and

11:25 → 11:27

and there's a there's a flow of information.

11:27 → 11:29

So, you know, if they're not happy with something or they have a

11:29 → 11:31

question, they'll come back and say, okay.

11:31 → 11:33

But, guys, you know, you said this,

11:33 → 11:34

but what have you thought about this?

11:34 → 11:35

And so, you know,

11:35 → 11:38

then if you can go back and prove that you you have thought

11:38 → 11:40

thought it through, you know,

11:40 → 11:43

the the agency is happy to to move forward.

11:43 → 11:46

So it's not like you go there with your business plan in a

11:46 → 11:47

sealed envelope,

11:47 → 11:49

and whatever you put in there is whatever you put in there.

11:49 → 11:53

And if you'd missed something, you you lose the ground.

11:54 → 11:57

They are happy to guide us guide you and and and even us

11:57 → 12:00

when we do the process with you to show you what needs to

12:00 → 12:03

happen, in order to access the funding.

12:04 → 12:06

Thank you very much for this.

12:06 → 12:11

By taking this chance, would like to encourage our audience,

12:11 → 12:12

ladies and gentlemen,

12:12 → 12:15

you may ask your questions using our comment section.

12:15 → 12:15

Yes.

12:15 → 12:19

This is this broadcast is taking place as a LinkedIn

12:19 → 12:23

post, so you can basically use the comment section to ask questions.

12:24 → 12:26

Yes.

12:26 → 12:28

From your perspective, extremely subjective one,

12:28 → 12:32

would say, what are, let's say, the trends

12:33 → 12:36

in, let's say, the startup world or the technologies world

12:36 → 12:38

from the Maltese perspective?

12:38 → 12:41

Yeah? What are the most often inquiries?

12:41 → 12:44

Are there, let's say, related to financial services?

12:44 → 12:48

Are there, let's say, most more related to entertainment?

12:48 → 12:51

How does it look like from your perspective?

12:52 → 12:53

Again, you know, Malta,

12:53 → 12:56

because it's so business friendly and because it offers

12:56 → 13:01

so many benefits, you know, some of the, you know,

13:01 → 13:04

the benefits include, if you're a non European, for instance,

13:04 → 13:07

if we have viewers from outside of the EU,

13:08 → 13:11

if you a Maltese company pays a dividend to a non European

13:11 → 13:12

entity, there's no withholding tax.

13:12 → 13:17

So, you know, there's clients that would wanna invest into

13:17 → 13:20

into Europe, and they're doing it through a Maltese company,

13:20 → 13:22

to to save the the withholding tax that some other

13:22 → 13:24

jurisdictions may levy.

13:24 → 13:28

We have companies that have have invest heavily into

13:28 → 13:30

Portugal, into real estate.

13:31 → 13:35

But then again, the same goes for technology because Malta

13:35 → 13:37

is known as the gaming, hub.

13:37 → 13:39

So I live in Slemma,

13:39 → 13:42

and every other door when I walk to the office in the

13:42 → 13:46

mornings have a gaming company or a gaming related company there.

13:46 → 13:49

So when you meet when you meet the local Maltese on the

13:49 → 13:51

streets and they hear you're a foreigner,

13:51 → 13:54

they always ask what gaming company do you work for?

13:54 → 13:58

So there's a lot of gaming companies that and and it could

13:58 → 14:01

be, like, you know, gaming specific, so, you know,

14:01 → 14:02

the slots and all of that,

14:02 → 14:06

but also affiliate companies that support,

14:06 → 14:10

the industry so that either direct traffic to a specific website.

14:11 → 14:14

Then there's guys that are developing software.

14:14 → 14:19

There's actually an innovation hub, in close to Valletta,

14:19 → 14:22

which is like a a Regis you know, those Regis offices.

14:22 → 14:25

We have, small little offices and then meeting spaces,

14:26 → 14:30

And that's already fully booked out, and it's it's a massive,

14:30 → 14:34

facility that the government put aside for IT startups to

14:34 → 14:35

move to the island,

14:35 → 14:38

and it was oversubscribed as soon as they opened it up.

14:38 → 14:40

So again, there's so many different fields.

14:40 → 14:45

I can't say to you like it's only software or it's only hardware.

14:46 → 14:47

But like I said, you know,

14:47 → 14:50

that as a as a as an island or as a jurisdiction,

14:51 → 14:53

again, when I was here at Expo twenty twenty in Dubai,

14:53 → 14:57

the agency said to me they're really pushing new technologies.

14:57 → 15:00

So, AI, Internet of things,

15:00 → 15:02

and and the like.

15:02 → 15:05

Thank you very much for this.

15:05 → 15:07

At the beginning of the conversation,

15:07 → 15:09

you mentioned very important matter.

15:09 → 15:12

I mean, the matter of intellectual property.

15:13 → 15:16

Does your company support, let's say,

15:16 → 15:19

matters of protecting the intellectual property,

15:19 → 15:21

and how does it look like, let's say, in practice?

15:21 → 15:24

Do you, for example, have your attorneys?

15:24 → 15:27

What kind of support can you provide?

15:27 → 15:28

Exactly.

15:28 → 15:30

So, you know, from we will set up the company for you.

15:30 → 15:31

We'll manage it.

15:31 → 15:34

And then once you start developing the,

15:34 → 15:36

the specific IP that you would like to register or that you

15:36 → 15:38

would like to trademark,

15:38 → 15:42

we would then start the process with our in house legal team to

15:42 → 15:44

make sure that the wording is correct.

15:44 → 15:46

It's recorded with the correct in the,

15:46 → 15:51

agency within Malta, and then it gets further recorded to,

15:51 → 15:56

the larger database, within the within the union.

15:56 → 16:00

So it's a whole process, and that's why, you know,

16:00 → 16:02

some clients have initially said to us they feel like they

16:02 → 16:04

could do it themselves.

16:04 → 16:09

It looks very straightforward, and it it appears to be very straightforward.

16:09 → 16:12

But if you do it every day, then it is.

16:12 → 16:15

And because you you know, some of these IPs,

16:15 → 16:19

do eventually land up with with quite a significant value,

16:20 → 16:22

you need to make sure that it's properly set up so that you

16:22 → 16:25

don't come at you know, you've designed this beautiful,

16:26 → 16:30

you know, like, IT, like software, for instance,

16:30 → 16:33

and it's amazing, and and you're gonna make millions from it.

16:33 → 16:34

And then all of a sudden,

16:34 → 16:36

someone starts copying you from, maybe,

16:36 → 16:37

from the east or whatever,

16:37 → 16:38

and you try and enforce your your patent,

16:38 → 16:41

and you missed a step,

16:41 → 16:45

or it's it's too broad that they can't actually apply.

16:45 → 16:46

Your description's too broad,

16:46 → 16:50

you can't actually go to the courts and and get a ruling on it.

16:50 → 16:50

Okay.

16:50 → 16:54

So this is the part of kind of support that I could also expect from you?

16:54 → 16:55

Correct. Yes. Yes.

16:55 → 16:59

So we have warranted lawyers that deal with with all of that.

16:59 → 16:59

Okay.

16:59 → 17:01

You're you're asking an accountant,

17:01 → 17:03

a lawyer lawyer question, but yes.

17:05 → 17:07

Know we have we have very qualified people to do that,

17:07 → 17:09

but that's definitely not me.

17:09 → 17:12

Alright, no well, you know, you know,

17:12 → 17:15

I think that it is a very broad topic because,

17:15 → 17:19

on one hand I have a chance for example to work,

17:19 → 17:23

with startup founders which always find their idea

17:23 → 17:27

unique and sometimes I'm receiving the same unique

17:27 → 17:30

idea coming just from two different countries, yes,

17:30 → 17:34

on the same day, so you can imagine how this look like,

17:34 → 17:37

while on the other hand, there are, let's say,

17:37 → 17:42

very complex concepts in terms of IT security

17:42 → 17:46

architecture and so on, so I can imagine that those

17:46 → 17:48

founders could benefit very,

17:48 → 17:51

very heavily from the services that you provide.

17:51 → 17:55

It seems like, you know,

17:55 → 17:58

what are you helping with is also, let's say,

17:59 → 18:02

avoiding dealing with, let's say,

18:02 → 18:04

governments or jurisdictions which are basically

18:04 → 18:08

unattractive or unfriendly towards the, let's say,

18:08 → 18:11

modern economy or new technologies or so on.

18:11 → 18:15

Yes, countries where basically law and regulation is too

18:15 → 18:19

obsolete to basically secure and serve,

18:19 → 18:21

modern companies.

18:21 → 18:25

Do you have, let's say, like directions that are,

18:25 → 18:28

I don't know how to say it, popular, yeah, like,

18:28 → 18:32

countries from which you notice that the people are,

18:32 → 18:36

let's say, running away, more and more often,

18:36 → 18:37

how does it look like?

18:37 → 18:40

Or if this is something super, you know,

18:40 → 18:42

that we would like to remain in discretion.

18:42 → 18:45

I wouldn't say run away from,

18:45 → 18:49

but what I would say is that Malta is quite progressive in that.

18:49 → 18:53

The the the ministry, the the the officials are very they

18:53 → 18:54

have an open door policy.

18:54 → 18:57

So if you had to come to them and say,

18:57 → 18:59

we'll we wanna do this,

19:00 → 19:01

And can you look at legislation?

19:01 → 19:04

Because there's nothing around it.

19:04 → 19:07

You know, what would normally take, I presume,

19:07 → 19:11

in other countries years, you could probably do in Malta in

19:11 → 19:14

in, you know, a year, for instance.

19:14 → 19:17

Because the ministry and the the agencies involved are very

19:17 → 19:19

business friendly, and they they move very quickly.

19:19 → 19:22

So Malta is very small.

19:22 → 19:23

As an island, it's, I think,

19:23 → 19:26

three hundred fifty square kilometers big.

19:26 → 19:28

So, you know, when you look at that, you're like,

19:28 → 19:29

it's a bit small.

19:29 → 19:31

But what's good with that is that, you know,

19:31 → 19:33

everyone is is very well connected.

19:33 → 19:37

And so, you know, the the the agencies work well together.

19:37 → 19:40

The a the the the service providers work well with the government.

19:40 → 19:43

You know, saying that if you look at you know,

19:43 → 19:46

there's the blockchain, some multi regulated

19:46 → 19:50

blockchain is one of the first countries in the world to do that.

19:50 → 19:54

So you can set up a blockchain or or launch a, you know,

19:54 → 19:58

coin via Malta, and it's regulated.

19:58 → 20:00

So, you know, if you wanted to go to institutional investors and

20:00 → 20:03

say, here's my blockchain or here's my my,

20:03 → 20:06

fintech company and it's in a regulated space, you know,

20:06 → 20:10

that that, you know, could definitely elevate, your product.

20:10 → 20:13

So, you know, there's fintech, and,

20:14 → 20:16

you know, AI, Internet of things,

20:16 → 20:17

all of that stuff.

20:17 → 20:21

So they're really looking at how to regulate it to make sure

20:21 → 20:25

that it's, properly regulated, but it's progressive.

20:25 → 20:25

You know?

20:25 → 20:28

So like you said, some countries may take very long to

20:28 → 20:31

adapt to this new way of thinking,

20:31 → 20:34

whereas Malta is very, quick to say, like, okay.

20:34 → 20:35

How do we do this?

20:35 → 20:36

How do we make sure that, you know,

20:36 → 20:39

there's no money laundering or there's no

20:39 → 20:42

hiding, funds or or anything like that.

20:42 → 20:47

But, you know, as we can do things the the right way and and do it very quickly.

20:47 → 20:49

K. Thank you very much for this.

20:49 → 20:50

Just to make it clear,

20:50 → 20:52

I wasn't suggesting any sort of the things that,

20:52 → 20:54

you mentioned in the last sentence.

20:54 → 20:55

No.

20:55 → 20:57

I'm just, you know, I'm just aware,

20:57 → 21:00

I even wrote a blog post a long time ago that the

21:00 → 21:04

countries and jurisdictions are becoming like service providers actually,

21:04 → 21:08

and they will be competing for more more and more attractive companies.

21:08 → 21:13

And, obviously, Malta is becoming one of the leaders in that field, yeah,

21:13 → 21:16

toward comparing to some, let's say, obsolete jurisdictions,

21:16 → 21:19

which are unable to handle the modern world.

21:19 → 21:23

Anyways And, I mean, there's because of the technology,

21:23 → 21:27

companies in Malta, so gaming, all of that,

21:27 → 21:30

there are so many tech techies in on the island.

21:30 → 21:33

So the talent pool is very big.

21:33 → 21:35

You mentioned it earlier about the weather.

21:35 → 21:37

We've got three hundred days of sunshine

21:37 → 21:41

in Malta, so we don't struggle with vitamin d deficiencies.

21:41 → 21:43

So when you set up your company in Malta,

21:43 → 21:46

it's easy to find staff.

21:46 → 21:50

It's even easier to convince staff to move to Malta.

21:50 → 21:54

If you're in a technology space, you can it's

21:54 → 21:57

you pay a certain salary for for your staff.

21:57 → 21:59

It's also easy to get work permits.

21:59 → 22:02

So if you're recruiting from outside of the EU,

22:02 → 22:04

if you have a certain salary level,

22:04 → 22:06

the application gets fast tracked.

22:06 → 22:10

So, you know, getting qualified people onto the island,

22:10 → 22:13

and getting your company off the ground is is very easy.

22:13 → 22:16

Thank you very much for this.

22:16 → 22:18

By taking this chance once again,

22:18 → 22:21

I would like to encourage our audience,

22:21 → 22:25

our viewers to ask questions using the comment section.

22:25 → 22:28

We both are glad to answer them.

22:28 → 22:30

Coming back to you, Hanno.

22:30 → 22:33

Perhaps this is a little bit beyond the

22:33 → 22:35

field of interest, but I think you have a chance to,

22:35 → 22:38

let's say, behold the these processes.

22:38 → 22:42

I mean, as you mentioned, Malta is an attractive environment,

22:42 → 22:43

but as a country,

22:43 → 22:46

it's relatively small in terms of territory and population.

22:46 → 22:49

Because of, let's say, economic geographic,

22:49 → 22:53

and historic conditions, it has a strong bond,

22:53 → 22:55

for example, with the United Kingdom,

22:55 → 22:58

also strong bond with the entire region of the

22:58 → 23:00

Mediterranean, so to speak.

23:01 → 23:04

Is it a good place to, for example,

23:04 → 23:06

begin the expansion?

23:06 → 23:10

For example, if I would have if I would coming up with something like

23:10 → 23:13

Revolve, a product which is obviously

23:14 → 23:17

demands for international clientele.

23:17 → 23:20

Do you think it's a good place to start, let's say,

23:20 → 23:21

that sort of expansion?

23:21 → 23:26

For sure. For sure. I mean, you know, when for for no. So okay.

23:26 → 23:27

So we've dealt with the funding.

23:27 → 23:28

But if you just look at the running cost of the Maltese

23:28 → 23:32

company versus, you know, some other countries that are quite,

23:32 → 23:34

prominent for for start ups,

23:34 → 23:36

the running costs are much lower in Malta.

23:36 → 23:38

You've got the funding available.

23:38 → 23:41

One thing we haven't touched on, and let me maybe,

23:41 → 23:45

just explain to the viewers how the tech tax system works in

23:45 → 23:50

Malta. So all Maltese companies pay tax of thirty five percent.

23:50 → 23:51

So, you know, initially, you'll be like, woah.

23:51 → 23:54

It's a way I can it's much cheaper elsewhere.

23:54 → 23:57

But what happens is that if you're a foreign shareholder

23:57 → 24:00

and it's trading income that you're getting,

24:00 → 24:02

then the government will give back to you as a foreign

24:02 → 24:04

shareholder thirty percent.

24:04 → 24:07

So so, essentially so if you make a hundred euro profit in your in

24:07 → 24:12

your IT company and thirty five euros will go to the government

24:12 → 24:15

Sixty five euros will go to you as the shareholder.

24:15 → 24:18

If it's trading profit, that hundred euros,

24:18 → 24:21

then sixty five euros fifty euros goes to you as a

24:21 → 24:23

shareholder from the government.

24:23 → 24:23

So at the end of the day,

24:23 → 24:26

you'll have sixty five euros from the company and thirty

24:26 → 24:28

euros from the government,

24:28 → 24:30

so you'll sit with ninety five euros.

24:30 → 24:34

So it's very attractive to have a Maltese company.

24:34 → 24:38

You know, there's the funding, the ease of doing business,

24:38 → 24:41

you know, with the regulator and and all of that.

24:41 → 24:45

And on top of that, just to to top it all off, you've got,

24:45 → 24:48

you know, the the the really beneficial tax rate.

24:48 → 24:51

Malta's got, if I'm not mistaken,

24:51 → 24:53

close to seventy double taxation treaties with

24:53 → 24:55

countries around the world.

24:55 → 24:56

You know?

24:56 → 24:58

So if you have a Maltese company,

24:58 → 25:00

there's and you're in a jurisdiction,

25:00 → 25:04

there would possibly be a double taxation treaty.

25:04 → 25:05

If you, for instance,

25:05 → 25:08

have a Maltese company and you have a subsidiary that pays a

25:08 → 25:10

dividend to the Maltese company,

25:10 → 25:12

the dividends that there's some rules around it,

25:12 → 25:14

but predominantly,

25:14 → 25:16

the if you own more than five percent of the underlying

25:16 → 25:18

company, so it's not a lot,

25:19 → 25:22

the dividends that you receive in Malta is not taxed.

25:22 → 25:24

Now if you imagine that you're a non European that owns that

25:24 → 25:28

Maltese company, the dividends that flow from Malta to,

25:28 → 25:31

let's say, South Africa where I'm from, is not taxed.

25:31 → 25:33

There's no withholding tax on that.

25:33 → 25:36

So, it's a brilliant structure even if you just wanna look at a

25:36 → 25:40

holding company and and consolidate your worldwide operations.

25:40 → 25:44

It's a very good jurisdiction for that.

25:44 → 25:47

So tax efficient double taxation treaties.

25:47 → 25:51

And even if there's a country that we have

25:51 → 25:53

no double taxation treaty with,

25:53 → 25:56

Any taxes that you've suffered in the home country that's

25:56 → 25:58

paying you the dividend,

25:58 → 26:02

that you get as a deduction in Malta's unilateral tax relief.

26:02 → 26:06

So from a tax perspective, you know, Malta wins hands down.

26:06 → 26:09

And then, you know, getting stuff in,

26:09 → 26:11

and just the ease of doing business,

26:11 → 26:13

makes it an easy decision.

26:15 → 26:17

One thing I should also maybe mention here that I'm also

26:17 → 26:19

talking about the lifestyle in that.

26:19 → 26:21

It's also very easy to get to Malta.

26:21 → 26:24

So all the airlines fly to Malta,

26:24 → 26:27

Turkish Airlines, Emirates, British Airways,

26:27 → 26:29

EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air.

26:29 → 26:34

So, you know and then Malta has its own airline called Air

26:34 → 26:36

Malta that fly direct all over the world.

26:36 → 26:38

I think they fly to sixty destinations.

26:38 → 26:41

So getting on and off the island is very easy.

26:41 → 26:46

So, you know, if if there's no need for you to visit Malta to set up your company.

26:46 → 26:48

But if you wanted to come to Malta to set up a company,

26:48 → 26:50

it's very easy to get there.

26:50 → 26:51

And even for the staff that are there,

26:51 → 26:54

if they have to commute to to visit clients, you know,

26:54 → 26:58

it's it's quite easy to to get it on and off the island.

26:58 → 27:01

Well, I should start looking for my backpack.

27:04 → 27:06

At least for November, December,

27:06 → 27:08

that would be convenient.

27:09 → 27:09

Okay then.

27:09 → 27:11

Perhaps,

27:11 → 27:15

I think the final one for now since just to let me check,

27:15 → 27:19

we do not have any questions in the comments.

27:19 → 27:22

In that case, I would like to at least encourage our audience to

27:22 → 27:25

address the questions following this session because it will be

27:25 → 27:29

available later on after this after the broadcast.

27:29 → 27:33

What would be your advice to a startup founder arriving

27:33 → 27:37

Malta with a backpack like me and the great idea of,

27:37 → 27:40

for example, financial product that could conquer the world,

27:40 → 27:43

let's say, conquer the world in terms of payments or,

27:43 → 27:44

for example, loans?

27:45 → 27:48

I think the the the biggest thing I would say is get

27:48 → 27:49

professional advice.

27:49 → 27:53

I know as a start up, you know, every cent counts and,

27:53 → 27:55

you know, you you count your euros and and all of that.

27:55 → 27:58

But penny wise, pound foolish.

27:58 → 28:03

So, you know, try and get professional advice as soon as you can or you can afford it,

28:03 → 28:07

so that you don't go down a path and then you realize you made a mistake.

28:07 → 28:10

So for instance, with, multi enterprise,

28:10 → 28:13

a lot of the funding relates to start ups.

28:13 → 28:16

So once the company reaches a certain age,

28:16 → 28:18

you can no longer apply for funding.

28:19 → 28:21

So that's something to consider.

28:21 → 28:25

You know, if you have a great idea that's gonna take over the world,

28:25 → 28:30

make sure that you get it patented, correctly, quickly, and, you know,

28:30 → 28:33

so that it's registered on all the websites and and parts that

28:33 → 28:37

it needs to be recorded so that if you are you know,

28:37 → 28:39

if you have if someone copies you,

28:39 → 28:42

you can at least have something to fall back on.

28:43 → 28:46

And then, you know, like I said, setting up in Malta,

28:46 → 28:48

you can set up a company.

28:48 → 28:52

We have a service office space.

28:52 → 28:55

So if you want to have someone in Malta,

28:55 → 28:58

you have a a software engineer that you want to physically put

28:58 → 29:00

in Malta to work on your software, for instance,

29:00 → 29:02

we have service office space.

29:02 → 29:04

You can get him a desk.

29:04 → 29:06

He'll be based in our building.

29:06 → 29:08

Your company name will be outside our building.

29:08 → 29:11

So if anybody comes to visit, the company name is there.

29:11 → 29:13

There's a receptionist. There's a meeting room.

29:13 → 29:16

You know, your your your developers is physically in

29:16 → 29:17

Malta.

29:17 → 29:21

So the the cost is much lower because if you had to arrive in Malta,

29:21 → 29:25

now you have to find an a part an office that's big enough,

29:25 → 29:27

you know, that if you have guests over that,

29:27 → 29:30

you can have a meeting with them and looks professional.

29:30 → 29:31

It's a lot of investments,

29:31 → 29:34

capital outlays for young start ups.

29:34 → 29:35

So at least with us,

29:35 → 29:39

you've got service offices with receptionists and all of that.

29:39 → 29:43

And also what we do, with the service office,

29:43 → 29:45

clients is that we have, like,

29:45 → 29:47

get togethers and and barbecues because we've got a beautiful

29:47 → 29:50

terrace overlooking the marina with all the superyachts.

29:50 → 29:55

And we have barbecues in in autumn and in spring on the on the terrace.

29:55 → 29:57

And we always invite the service office clients with

29:57 → 30:00

because a lot of them will only have one person on the island,

30:00 → 30:02

so that's quite lonely.

30:02 → 30:07

So they integrate very well within the the d CART house team.

30:07 → 30:10

So it's sort of like a little family, for your staff,

30:10 → 30:13

when you at least, you know, we in theory,

30:13 → 30:16

they should be happy to to to remain and and work

30:17 → 30:18

in your startup.

30:18 → 30:19

But yeah.

30:19 → 30:21

So I think the biggest thing I think that everyone always

30:21 → 30:25

tries to cut corners on is is seeking professional advice,

30:25 → 30:27

also in your home country.

30:27 → 30:30

So for instance, you know, if you're based in the UK,

30:30 → 30:33

make sure that you get proper advice in the UK.

30:33 → 30:36

There's also no point in you undertaking this whole complex

30:36 → 30:37

structure, for instance,

30:37 → 30:40

in setting up a Maltese company with a holding comp with a

30:40 → 30:44

subsidiary in, you know, Johannesburg or whatever,

30:44 → 30:47

and it doesn't work because you're living in the UK and and

30:47 → 30:47

and all of that.

30:47 → 30:50

So professional advice, I think,

30:50 → 30:53

would be the one thing I would wanna leave with everyone watching.

30:54 → 30:57

Well, I must I must admit that,

30:57 → 31:01

when you mentioned matter of the tariffs,

31:01 → 31:03

it sounds like also networking opportunity.

31:03 → 31:06

And, for example, in the world of my clientele,

31:06 → 31:07

it is extremely important.

31:07 → 31:09

So it's good to know that, let's say,

31:09 → 31:12

some such opportunity takes place.

31:12 → 31:13

What can I say?

31:13 → 31:15

And and like I mentioned, you know,

31:15 → 31:18

there's that innovation hub, in Valletta.

31:18 → 31:21

So, you know, there's a lot of actually, week,

31:21 → 31:24

there's a start a multi enterprise has a startup week

31:24 → 31:27

festival, where they have a lot of, like,

31:27 → 31:31

events happening to help startups and help startups

31:31 → 31:33

network within the island.

31:33 → 31:34

So you're right.

31:34 → 31:36

Like, for startups initially, you do need to network.

31:37 → 31:38

And especially in the technology field,

31:38 → 31:41

there's so much is happening so quickly.

31:41 → 31:44

So even if you don't wanna be a d in the d card house,

31:44 → 31:46

you can go to the innovation hub.

31:46 → 31:48

Because what tends to happen is people start in the innovation

31:48 → 31:52

hub, and then they grow, grow, grow, and then they move out,

31:52 → 31:56

to, you know, premises closer closer close by.

31:56 → 31:57

So it's you know,

31:57 → 32:01

even though the innovation hub is full at the moment, there is churn,

32:01 → 32:05

and so there will be space available maybe later on.

32:05 → 32:08

So it's easy to collaborate.

32:08 → 32:10

And, again, because the island is very small,

32:10 → 32:13

it's very easy to collaborate and and and set up meetings and

32:13 → 32:18

and and meet fellow tech tech companies, on the island.

32:19 → 32:21

Well, thank you very much for this.

32:21 → 32:24

I think it sounds like a good encouragement,

32:25 → 32:29

for for the startups all around the Europe and beyond.

32:29 → 32:32

Thank you very much for fighting time finding time for us.

32:33 → 32:36

As mentioned We have one comment, though. Oh.

32:36 → 32:41

Is it is it difficult to actually work work in

32:41 → 32:44

Malta? Sun, sea, barbecue, and networking.

32:44 → 32:46

In summer, it's difficult because in summer,

32:46 → 32:48

you've got the beach clubs that are open,

32:49 → 32:50

and the beach clubs are amazing.

32:50 → 32:52

So, yeah, in summer.

32:52 → 32:54

But, you know, these days I mean,

32:54 → 32:57

I'm in a hotel room currently, so you can work from anywhere.

32:57 → 33:00

So nothing stops you from taking your laptop to Cafe Del

33:00 → 33:02

Mar and sitting next to the pool

33:02 → 33:05

working with amazing Mediterranean weather.

33:06 → 33:09

Well well, amazing.

33:09 → 33:13

You know, the I've been talking with one of our designers today,

33:13 → 33:15

and he just said that he loves this rainy,

33:15 → 33:18

let's say English sort of weather because it's easier for

33:18 → 33:20

him to focus, but,

33:21 → 33:24

you know, different professionals have different preferences.

33:24 → 33:25

Okay then.

33:25 → 33:29

Thank you very much, Geno, for finding time for us,

33:29 → 33:30

for finding time for our audience.

33:30 → 33:33

I would like to pretty much encourage everyone which is

33:33 → 33:35

considering establishing a startup,

33:35 → 33:39

looking for a good jurisdiction to consider Henno Kotze and his

33:39 → 33:41

services provided by Dixcard Malta.

33:42 → 33:45

Please feel free to reach out to him using LinkedIn and to

33:45 → 33:48

other, let's say, contact channels.

33:48 → 33:49

If on the other way,

33:49 → 33:52

you would like to build something with your startup,

33:52 → 33:55

of course, please feel free to reach out to me.

33:55 → 34:00

I'll be very, very grateful to for any for any message coming from you.

34:01 → 34:04

I'm not sure how what next time Merric Studio will be

34:04 → 34:09

broadcasting live on LinkedIn, but but I'll I'm sure you

34:09 → 34:10

will be keep posted.

34:10 → 34:13

Thank you very much. Have a good one.

34:13 → 34:16

Looking forward to weekend. Thank you.

34:16 → 34:19

Thank you very much. Cheers. Bye. Bye bye.