Art (Dane Finch) is a South African-American entrepreneur known for his work in international business and innovative governance models. He proposed Yung Drung City in Bhutan, a sustainable charter city, and is involved with the League of Free Cities, promoting autonomous zones for human flourishing. His efforts have been covered in Forbes.
Born in South Africa, Finch later moved to the United States. He studied at the University of South Carolina’s Honors College (top ranked public honors program in the US at the time), pursuing a custom tailored curriculum with core of hard sciences and specialization in Biomedical Engineering, and a minor in cultural anthropology, earning Dean’s and President’s list honors. He also attended FMU. He completed eight years of credit over 4-5 years in his tertiary studies. He attended the Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan for a year to deepen his knowledge of the country.
Finch’s entrepreneurial ventures include:
His most notable project, Yung Drung City, proposed transforming Gelephu, Bhutan, into an eco-industrial charter city. Finch's vision included nature integrated architecture and a robust economic FDI basis for organic city growth, rather than a top down master plan. Supported by $1 million in a round led by Pronomos Capital and letters of intent from 19 firms worth over $2B in capital commitments, the project received initial licensing from the Bhutanese government as an advanced special economic zone. However, the government later revoked the license and launched the project themselves under the brand Gelephu Mindfulness City, without Finch's involvement, while publicly denying his connection to the initiative in a press statement released two days after cancelling Yung Drung Inc's Bhutan zone license.
Finch was invited to Bhutan by the first democratic Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley, in context of a proposal for the Education City project, which was shelved when JYT lost the second election and was placed under house arrest by the King ("for being the face of genuine democracy" as Art see's it). In 2015, under the next government, Finch's telecom proposal's final approval was rejected despite last minute support by the new Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. It was expected to reduce the cost of internet in Bhutan by a factor of ten, undermining the government's most profitable state owned enterprise at the time, Bhutan Telecom. He was then pushed out of Bhutan (not expelled but asked to leave) on the drummed up basis of operating a "mini portable commercial swimming pool," - because his son collected 20 rupee (about $0.30) fees from neighbors who used the home swimming pool - in violation of his work permit (quote per the letter he received from the department of immigration). In 2021, his Yung Drung City proposal, for an advanced special economic zone, was initially licensed by the Bhutanese government. In 2023, the government revoked the license, launched the project under the brand Gelephu Mindfulness City, and publicly disavowed any connection to Finch. Six months later Finch himself cut all relation with the Bhutan project (when Forbes took it public) and he draws a parallel to the experience of similarly co-opted work by the architect Victor Gruen, who once said "I refuse to pay alimony for those bastard developments." He continues to explore initiatives for a "Human Flourishing" oriented zone / future city in other countries, including Sri Lanka, and consults on scores of similar projects globally.