Makers in the City – How 11 makerspaces around the world grow communities and hack urban issues
Cities are the future of mankind, with 60% of the world population expected to live there by 2030. It doesn’t come without new challenges, such as the integration of new migrants, the management of more waste and water consumption, and a global competition between world top cities to attract innovative companies and entrepreneurs to create […]
Hong Kong tech hub: where finance & manufacture turn into startups
Hong Kong is better known for its financial expertise and culture of manufacturing than its startups. However, a generation of bored bankers and veterans of the factories are becoming the first generation of tech entrepreneurs in “Asia’s New York”. What is the position of Hong Kong as an innovation ecosystem? What are the links with […]
HOW TO TURN A “LOST GENERATION” OF ENGINEERS IN IRAN INTO AN INNOVATION ASSET
Iran’s Wealth of Untapped Engineering Talent During the trip to Iran, one thing we noticed was the great number of engineers and scientists in the country. There are a few reasons for this. First, Persia has historically been a center for science and has made important contributions to our current understanding of nature, medicine and […]
IRAN SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ITS PERSIAN DIASPORA TO BECOME A STARTUP NATION
The Story of Persian Diaspora: Immigrants and Emigrants Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, millions of Iranians have migrated to other parts of the Middle East, US, Europe, and other areas around the world. The political crackdown following the 2009 election protests has also accelerated the exodus of Iranians. There is no exact number for […]
BEHIND THE VEIL – IRANIANS HACK THE SYSTEM AND SHOW AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
An Iranian Impression – True or False? Before coming to Iran, we weren’t sure of what to expect apart from what we had read online and in Lonely Planet. Because of the name of the country itself (the Islamic Republic of Iran), we assumed everyone would be very religious. We also knew that women would have […]
Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2013: How entrepreneurship is fit for Asia's electrifying youth
I’m always a bit wary of politicians’ speeches. After all, this is their profession. This morning, however, in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, I was amazed and enthused after Malaysia PM Najib Razak’s and US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speeches. Together, they launched the 4th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit immediately after the Global Youth Startup where 500 youths gathered to tackle the world’s […]
Kenya's lesson on innovation to Africa – From hack schools to long-term capability building
Njeri Chelimo’s “Nairobi Dev School” – An Exemplary Beacon for Kenya’s innovation ecosystem The story of Njeri Chelimo is a compelling one, and a shining example of the proverb “when there is a will, there is a way”. This 20 y.o Kenyan girl had planned to attend a hack school in New York a few months ago. The 12-week program was free […]
Malaysia as a Startup Hub! What are the next steps?
For a young country, Malaysia has quite an extensive history of building its own innovation ecosystem. It opened its Multimedia Super Corridor back in 1997. The time has now arrived – and it also has for neighboring Singapore – to scale to greater heights. The aim: to have significant and successful startups so that people can associate a global brand with […]
Cultural awareness and innovation: the challenges facing startups as they go global
To continue our exploration of Kenya as an innovation ecosystem on the fringes of Afrikoin, I met with Samuel Gichuru from the Nailab incubator. A fast-paced and energetic conversation proved helpful in pinpointing a key challenge entrepreneurs face: the management of cultural differences. Kenya is the kingdom of mobile money (the MPesa system), but it is an isolated one. No other country is using mobile money […]
Comparing or Connecting Startup Ecosystems?
Our project and mission in Kuala Lumpur is to learn how innovation ecosystems work all over the world, starting in year #1 with by visiting 10 countries over the next 10 months during their key events. We had covered our first ecosystem while attending Austin’s SXSW back in March 2013. We talked about a crowd funding campaign, tons of contents, contacts, […]
