Transcript Financing Innovation

BRICS for an Innovative South?
Michael Kahn, Tshwane University of
Technology
Trivandrum, 19-21 August 2009
[email protected]
The Challenge
Technological Great Surges
i.
Industrial revolution (machines; factories;
canals)
ii.
The Age of Steam (coal, iron, rail)
iii. Age of steel and heavy engineering
(electrical, chemical, civil and naval)
iv. Age of automobile (mass production,
petrochemicals)
v. Age of Information
Technology and
Communications
vi. Age of ? Bio/nano/cogno?
 Location specific; diffusion 50+ yrs
 Distinct techno-economic paradigm
 Knowledge as factor of production
 Bubbles and busts as technology
and finance get misaligned
 Society and politics essential aspect
of local technological evolution and
innovation
Technological innovation is critical to long-term
economic growth. Most technological innovation
consists
of
incremental
change
industries.
in
existing
…. Sustained growth can occur only
with the continuous introduction of truly new
goods
and
services—radical
technological
innovations that disrupt markets and create new
capacity to turn sciencebased inventions into commercially
viable innovations is critical to radical
industries. The
technological innovation.’
(Branscomb and Auerswald, 2002)
Innovations
Innovations
Innovations
Brazil: aerospace; mineral and crop commodities;
energy; s/w; pharm; medical
India: aerospace; crop commodities; s/w;
pharma; automotive
Russia: aerospace; nano; bio; energy
China: manufacturing & services
South Africa: mineral and crop commodities; s/w;
services; medical; energy
Contribution of Knowledge
to GDP Growth
Source: KDI
and K4D
Potential in knowledge clusters
Watch this space
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Leader in Plant Varieties #9; animal
breeding, animal and plant health =>
potential for innovation?
Shift toward Infectious Diseases plus
molecular biology competence =>
reality in the Farmer to Pharma concept
Government does pick winners!
SASOL, SUNSPACE; now PBMR
No shortage of ideas or funding
A Poverty of technology or
a poverty of politics?
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Services led economies with service
delivery failure
Innovation failure or a failure of
process?
Informal sector unquantified
What barriers of entry to informal sector?
Unintended consequences of policy
Examples of innovation: financial services;
repair shops; cellphone banking