As part of the St Maarten Innovations, Initiatives & Industries Link-Up Event (SMILE), a special “Made Here Market” display will take place for those products manufactured within the Northeastern Caribbean.

Many island made consumer products are still relative unknown to a wider audience. While others have broken through internationally. In small island states it is important to diversify, and therefore, we have set aside the special market place to highlight those creating jobs and industry through local manufacturing of quality locally made products.

SMILE organizers The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) and the 360º of Innovation Foundation offer a platform for those companies in this niche to showcase the professional products available both domestically and abroad.  In fact, many of the event’s main sponsors such as SXM Beer, St Maarten Nectar and Toppers’ Rhum are examples of best practices for locally manufactured products providing newly created jobs with an ever expanding international client base.    

SMILE will be held on Friday March 25 and Saturday March 26, 2022, at the University of St Martin.

Interested people who want to participate at SMILE, both domestic and foreign, can contact the SHTA SMILE project office at office@shta.com or call +1-721-5420108. More information can be found at www.smilesintmaarten.com. For this edition, a close eye is kept on the developments pertaining to the pandemic to guarantee safety. If the status at the time requires reduced crowd size, tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.