Places of Innovation – How tech giants, hackerspaces and corporates shape new places to foster innovation
The first Coworking Unconference of Asia was the opportunity for us to showcase part of the work we’ve done over the last 18 months around the world. One topic we have been exploring during our trips is the design of what we’ve called “Places of Innovation”. How do corporates create new places where their teams […]
Thoughts from Las Vegas: the FrenchTech reach maturity
When my aunt did some research on our family tree a few years ago, we found only armymen from the early 1800s with a “grognard” serving Napoleon, up to my grandfather and my father who both served in the French army, although in different contexts. I’m not wearing the uniform myself, but I’ve been educated […]
[FutureCom Brazil] How to boost an emerging digital economy? Aim at SMEs!
From São Paulo, Futurecom was the occasion for David Dean, senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group, to present a report dealing with the factors accelerating or decelerating the digital economy. Intitulated “Greasing the Wheels of the Internet Economy”, it analyzes how countries can benefit from identifying obstacles to digital driven growth, with special emphasis […]
A journey into the Singapore startup ecosystem with Florian Cornu
For the Coursera MOOC I’m following on “Beyond Silicon Valley”, I had to interview a local entrepreneur to better understand the concept of a startup ecosystem. Living and working in Singapore for two years now, I chose to interview Florian Cornu, whose experience started with corporate innovation finance industry beforehand in London for AXA. He then came to […]
Make in India: meet 5 promising Internet of things startups from Bangalore
Internet of Things in India is becoming quite trendy, as a lot of the conversations happening at Bangalore’s top tech event Nasscom Product Conclave showed. Make in India vs. Innovate with China: two economic policies for Asia’s giants This trend also benefits from a broader support from the government. Back in September, India’s new Prime […]
Startup Books #3: Startup Rising, the Entrepreneurial Revolution in the Middle-East, by Christophe Schroeder
So far, Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle-East is one of the top startup books we have read, and that we recommend. In a dense, 200+ pages, author Christopher M Schroeder not only gives a kaleidoscopic view of an exciting region, he also shares his own journey, started with “a first mentorship experience […]
Start-Up Chile: effective support to the entrepreneur or actual struggle?
Start-Up Chile is a well-known program of the Chilean government to attract early entrepreneurs and support start-up creation in the country, consisting of a USD 40K grant, a visa to work in Chile, plus some extra practical help like mentoring, networking and free access to a coworking space. Beyond the money+visa hook, how does an […]
[FutureCom Brazil] Submarine cables: the long-term bet of Google in the emerging markets
After having invested in the pacific transcontinental cables, Google will keep on developing network infrastructures. This time, the Montain View giant will team up with Latin American companies and African operators to link the United States to Brazil, and unexpectedly, Angola, via submarine cables. (Submarine Cable World Map, as of 2007, Wikicommons) Four companies from […]
INRIA Chile: a case study on how Chile attracts top R&D innovation centers
Chile and its tech ecosystem has been gaining quite some exposure, and if the most famous reason is its Startup Chile program (a visa + $40 000 starting-up package), a lot of other ways to foster a culture of entrepreneurship happen. In a more traditional fashion, but with results, the country has signed a series of […]
Palestinian startups in Chile: from the diaspora to the investments
Back in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s, the collapse of the Ottaman Empire generated waves of mass migration from Palestine to some friendlier place. Chile was chosen by many of the migrants, mostly from Belen, for it has a similar climate to Palestine and its locals are rather welcoming to foreigners. 500 000 Palestinians […]
