Flavia Tata Nardini and Suhit Anantula//Humanomics were the absolute stars in a sold out DutchSA event last night. A vast and diverse group of South Australians representing many industries and backgrounds had gathered in the Mayfair to enjoy a fantastic show, put up by Flavia and Suhit.

Flavia spoke about her journey as a migrant, starting up a space business and leading the creation of a new industry in South Australia and a national space agency for Australia. Flavia's business develops large volume low cost nano satellites for communication between devices (the internet of things), which will be a key driver for the 4th industrial revolution. We learned what it takes to launch and fund a successful startup and how their grand vision of affordable data communication at any place on earth, will ultimately impact the protection of the great barrier reef and reduction of waste in supply chains.

Suhit the showed how large organisations can find their ability to innovate again. We learned about structured ways of developing new business models by collaborating with your ecosystems and even competitors. Both stories of practice and theory combined brilliantly and the session was informative, fun, inspiring and uplifting.

It takes only a few people to change everything. It is all possible here in South Australia! We went home full of energy and new ideas.

We thank our speakers, volunteers, sponsors Mindavation and BusinessModelsInc, and our great audience to make this event possible. As one of the attendees summarised after the event: It was a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable night, looking forward to the next one now!

Hosted in the newly renovated Mayfair hotel the DutchSA forum on Financial Planning for Migrants had a very good turn-out. The relevancy of the subject is clear: most migrants have little idea of financial challenges lying ahead in the different stages of life in Australia: housing, kid's education and retirement. But it will impact their lives hugely.

Three industry experts shared their vision and advice. 

Nick Reade, CEO of BankSA, drew the big picture laying out different strategies for different phases of life. He also touched upon the business climate in SA for the self-employed migrants. 

Arthur Kallos, Investors Direct, made clear in his presentation that for most of us our Super will be way too little by the time we retire. Key to his advice is cash-flow: how to get in under control and how to align your investments with your cash-flow. 

Glenn Sterrey of Bentley's Wealth Partners highlighted the challenges in finding a truly independent Financial Planner. His presentation then focussed on the pros and cons of securities versus property investments, and the importance of having an income insurance.

An open forum discussion with the three speakers concluded the event, leaving the participants with lots to digest. Financial planning and investments is a complex field that most people gladly avoid. But can really we afford to keep our heads in the sand?

The feedback on the DutchSA Employment forum for Skilled Migrants on 21st Feb at Hilton Adelaide was overwhelmingly positive. It confirmed how relevant the discussion about employability for many ‘new Australians' is. Migrants bring a wealth of unique skills and experiences into the country, but how to best fit in and get the opportunity to prove these skills? For many it is hard to break into the employment market, or find work on their own level.

During the forum a panel of four experts gave their view on the local job market, each from their own perspective: Mark Glazbrook (Migration), Amanda Bald (Santos - Employer), Pippa Webb (Government) and Arthur Key (Recruitment). They shared many relevant insights for all participants, but a few stood out: (1) for many reasons the ‘skills in demand' list does not match the actual vacancies in SA; (2) applicants should focus on making it easy for employers to interpret their CV and cover letter; (3) there is lots of help available for job seekers from a myriad of local organisations; (4) it is better not to ‘dumb down' your CV just to get into the employment market; (5) Migrants should be proud of their background and sell the positives they bring.

​It is very encouraging for DutchSA to see how many people from different backgrounds participated in this event. It emphasizes that we are all in the same boat and that diversity is what we have in common here in SA. Thanks everyone for joining.

On 7 March 2012 DutchSA launched a new professional networking initiative: the Business Breakfast series. Special guest and featured speaker for this first edition was Bill Vis, the founder of the Adelaide based VIP-Home Services franchise ($110million turnover).

Bill shared the story behind his success, which is due to a number of qualities and regardless of the current economic climate: A keen sense for business opportunities; a willingness to try out new ways and to discard things that aren't working as well; an eagerness to keep listening to new ideas; having goals in your life to work towards and having a care for the people you work with.

​Bill stressed that he firmly believes in a flat franchise organisation model, which allows him to coach and mentor his franchisees directly. And he explicitly opened the door for his fellow Dutch migrants to join his franchise. See our video summary.

A packed suite in the Hilton Hotel Adelaide eagerly engaged with Bill, who made sure to spend some personal time with all participants. A great start of what we hope will be a successful series of DutchSA business networking events. Stay tuned!