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Business Development and Micro Venture

Business Development Micro Venture

Value chain for green grassroots innovation will require financial support at different stages of product cycle. Support is required for improving the attributes of the innovative product/prototype through R&D linkages. This initial market assessment has to be followed by micro venture and innovation fund support for converting innovations into products, and products into enterprises. The various activities needed for the purpose are:

  • To coordinate with various entrepreneur/industry associations, management institutions and incubators to mobilise mentoring and management support for grassroots innovators and TK holder.

  • To involve private and public sector industrial and financial institutions and associations in linking innovations with investment and enterprise at individual or group level.

  • To help promote various innovations and outstanding TK through market and non-market channels.

  • To encourage various industry associations and other developmental bodies to set up mechanisms for licensing innovations for business development and equitable benefit sharing with the innovators and TK holder.

  • To help raise resources for pursuing various activities and developing innovation value chain.

  • To support the operations of the National Micro Innovations Fund through public and private participation and mobilise the incubation fund and venture capital for innovators and TK holders.

  • To develop business plans, market research plans, reports and training material as well self learning material for GIANS and others involved in promoting innovation based entrepreneurship.

    • Business Incubation and Venture Assistance
    To commercialise the innovations, a framework has been developed to build the value chain around various innovations and traditional knowledge. It is necessary to form mentoring teams around each product for which business development has to be done. One has to locate willing entrepreneurs or business managers who would help in market research, business planning, developing a proposal for raising micro venture finance and, eventually, help convert innovations or traditional knowledge into commercial ventures. Students' Club for Augmenting Innvations (SCAI) at grassroots are being set up in large numbers in many Business Schools all over the country. This network of students will help grassroots innovators in market feasibility reports, financial calculations, streamlining supply chains etc. Similar SCAI clubs are being set up in technology institutes, agricultural universities and pharmacy colleges. NIF along with a group of students under SOMA (Students' Organization for Managerial Assistance) at IIM Ahmedabad is organizing a countrywide Business Plan contest 'DISHA' for developing business plans for grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices. SCAI at grassroots is envisaged to be a voluntary network of students cutting across all disciplines to help promote and actively take part in the mission of NIF.

    In his budget speech in 2002, the Finance Minister had announced his decision to establish a micro venture and innovation fund. National MVIF of Rs 4 crore for ten years has been launched on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti this year with the help of SIDBI, to be managed by NIF. It is obvious that it is a case of a support, too little, too late and will hardly make a small dent on the problem. However, it is hoped that the experience of incubation in the last so many years and as well as through this fund in coming years will convince the policy makers about the need for supporting small innovators in a major way.
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