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Michael Sudarkasa, Technium Challenge Coordinator.
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Participants at the Technium Challenge Briefing Session.
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The Maxum Business Incubator at The Innovation Hub recently hosted the Technium Challenge Briefing Session on 5 December 2007 at The Innovation Hub. The event was attended by driven, passionate and innovative budding and established entrepreneurs.
Technium Challenge is a business planning competition managed by Technium and International Business Wales. Technium is a network of innovation centres across Wales, supporting the growth of emerging technology businesses and providing an international soft-landing for businesses entering the UK. The Technium Challenge was started in 2003 targeting innovative UK businesses and in 2006 it was expanded to include other countries, including South Africa.
Kerryne Krause-Neufeldt of I-Slices Innovations (Pty) Ltd won the South African leg of the Challenge and went on to claim the second spot in the international competition. According to her, participation in the event has propelled her company into the global arena much quicker than anticipated. Additional benefits included negotiating licenses in other countries, access to funding from abroad, exposure to other businesses, additional mentorship, and propelling their expansion process to a higher level.
Tips from Kerryne to potential applicants for the competition include:
- researching Wales and what it can offer
- taking the global market size and competition into consideration
- articulating strategies on global market penetration
- ensuring appropriate skills in the team, and
- clearly describing the marketing strategy, including impact, commercial orientation, IP/trade marks and target market.
The submission deadline for summary outlines (about four pages) is 31 January 2008 and a full business plan will be expected by 4 April 2008. Remember that participation in the Challenge, whether a company wins or not, creates international business linkages and global exposure.
The challenge also serves to showcase the abilities of South African companies in the global market.
Further details about this and other events that could benefit your business will be available on the Maxum website early in 2008.
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