Transformation of Indian society in response to Globalisation and its issues, has not only thrown up many new opportunities for budding SME Entrepreneurs, but also poses several challenges, which need to be surmounted, for growth, performance and success in the Global arena. Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks (STEPs) and Technology Business Incubators (TBIs), are the new genre of developmental initiatives for nurturing innovative, knowledge based enterprises that generate many new jobs, create wealth and enhance quality of life, and have been acknowledged as repositories of significant knowledge, as far as innovative technology based start-ups promotion in the country, is concerned. Now, with the start-up companies increasingly facing stiff global competition, standards and customer requirements, Business Incubator Managers and their managerial competencies, take on a very critical role, in supporting the companies cope with these demands. This necessitates major retooling of systems and sharpening of skills of the Business Incubators across India.
TREC-STEP has received grant funding from the European Union under their Small Project Facility Programme and from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for the project titled, “Business Incubators Network Development Platform for Knowledge Sharing and Business Incubation partnerships between European Union and India”, to support the on-going transformation and modernization of India’s economy and systems of governance by facilitating enhanced interactions between European and Indian civil society. Under this project, Business Incubator (BI) Associations of four countries - India, UK, Germany and Sweden, are coming together for the first time, through representative Business Incubator Associations, for knowledge sharing on best practices, developing sustainable linkages and facilitating cross-border venture creation between EU and India, in the future.
With more than 1200 Business Incubators, Europe remains as the single largest pool of Business Incubators in the world today. The EU - India Business Incubator Networking Project is one of the most potent mechanisms for enabling knowledge sharing and linkages for future cross cultural venture promotion.
Under this project, TREC-STEP has partnered with 3 National Business Incubation Associations,
All 3 partners are among the most experienced incubator associations of the world, donning a leadership role in their countries, in the Business Incubation field. So, the need for training, exposure, know-how exchange and networking of Business Incubators in India, with that of successful and more developed Business Incubators, articulated and high-lighted by the Indian Business Incubation Community, is effectively addressed in this EU-India Business Incubator Networking Project.
The initial stages of the project, concentrated on knowledge sharing between EU and Indian Business Incubators on best practices and benchmarks and on formation of Business
In the latter half, the project focused on the process of facilitating the promotion of successful ventures across EU-India Business Incubation Networks, by identifying and nurturing young promising business ventures, of Incubatee entrepreneurs. This phase comprised of
The most favorable offshoot of the project has been the formidable partnerships with strong mutual understanding, between the partners of the project - TREC-STEP, UKBI, ADT and SiSP.
This comprehensive project, ‘Business Incubators Network Development Platform for Knowledge Sharing and Business Incubation Partnerships between EU and India’, has won TREC-STEP the recognition from the European Commission, as ‘a Best example of a Good project’ in 2006.
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