Innovators, entrepreneurs, and all those connected with the incubation movement from India and selected countries from overseas enjoyed a fruitful interaction for the three days and gained rich benefits. It was the fourth annual conference being organized by the Indian STEPs and Business Incubators’ Association (ISBA) and the first one organized directly by ISBA. Previous events were held jointly with a local STEP/TBI as a host.

Green conference

One fact that stood out was that it was planned and executed as a “Green Conference”. Printings of collaterals were done in grey scale, no transport was provided for picking up delegates, public transport was encouraged, bus transport was done on a point to point basis. All events were in the same vicinity to avoid mass movements of participants.

ISBA 2010 Conference's success can definitely be attributed to the magnificence of its organization. More than 250 delegates and participants took part in the events, including 17 international participants from Nigeria, Tanzania, Mongolia, Bhutan, Ethiopia, France, Australia, Israel and UK. 50 incubator managers from various STEPs/TBIS’s from all over India and 23 vice-chancellors and directors of R&D institutions participated in a parallel workshop. The following three plenary sessions were organized during the conference:

• ISBA’s White Paper on Business Incubation – ISBA Presidential Speech
• Incubating Ventures Through Innovating Industry – Academia Linkage
• Innovative ways for Technology Commercialization

Five thematic sessions were held concurrently:

• Incubating Innovative ICT Companies for Sustained Inclusive Growth
• Incubating Innovative Social Enterprises for Sustained and Inclusive Rural Development
• Incubating Innovative Ventures for Sustained and Inclusive Health
• Incubating Innovative Clean Technology Start –ups for Sustained Growth
• Incubating Innovative Start –ups for Sustained and Inclusive Urban Development

ISBA 2010 also included three panel discussions during the conference on:

• Financial Mechanism for Supporting Innovative Start - Ups
• Innovative Support Mechanism for Incubation: International Experiences
• Building Sustainable Business Incubators

Innovation showcases and awards

The R&W (Research@Work) exhibition focused on showcasing research contributions to innovation and its application. R@W included 13 showcases on a total space of 264sqm. One ISBA pavilion showcased various technologies and products of incubatee companies. Well-known institutions such as CSIR and NRDC but also support agencies including DST, DSIR, TDB were among those that attracted the most attention during the exhibition. The multifaceted technologies and products were displayed with technology demonstrations and product presentations.

Nine awards for outstanding incubatees were presented during the inauguration ceremony by the Hon’ble Minister of Science and Technology in the following four categories:

• Information and Communication Technology
• Clean Technology & Engineering
• Biotechnology and Pharmacy
• Agri/Agritech/Inclusive Growth

Financing innovation

One of the main highlights of the conference was the 'Young Entrepreneurs Start–ups with Soaring Spirits (YESSS)' competition, that took place during the pre-lunch session on February 9, 2010. In this session, about 15 young entrepreneurs presented their business plans to an invited audience of venture capitalists, angel investors and financial institutions for possible investments.

ISBA made a breakthrough announcement on the launch of its venture capital fund now reaching an amount of 550 million rupees. Memorandums of Understanding were exchanged for supporting innovative ideas of ISBA members, where incubator managers recommended specific cases for seed funding. Main supporters of the success of the ISBA 2010 event included the following VS's: 1) Inventa Infrastructure Pvt Limited, and 2) Arihant group of Companies.

Tools and emotions

A further key event of the conference was the release of ISBA’s Publication “Reference Guide for Incubatees- Incubation at a Glance”. The handbook aims to serve as a practical tool for all incubatee managers and incubatee companies. It has been compiled by Shri Shekhar Agharkar, Director, Arthtech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Pune, an associate member of Science and Technology Park, Pune.

The workshop 'Means of establishing Technology Business Incubators within Universities and R&D Institutions' brought together vice-chancellors, deans of faculties of science and management, directors of post graduate courses and scientists from R&D institutions, discussing practical tools in a group of intellectual elite and tapping into the immense potentials hidden within these institutions.

The play titled “Black Orchid” brought some emotional moments to the first day of the event. “Black Orchid” told the story of women and children caught up in needless armed conflicts and inhuman atrocities. The play was staged by the “Prospective Repertory Theatre Manipur” spearheaded by Toijam Shila Devi.

ISBA 2010 was supported by a powerful Internet platform called InterlinX that allowed delegates to maximize partnering opportunities without having to undergo physical travel for participating in discussions.

For more information about ISBA 2010, please visit the conference website: http://www.isba2010.in/