What is the role of business incubation in fostering regional innovation and entrepreneurship? What types of national public sector policies and programs support innovation initiatives in the region? How can Public-Private Sector Partnerships play a role in promoting innovation? What are the main models and themes surrounding business incubation in the region?

These are some of the questions that were tackled at the Advancing Innovation in ECA 2007 conference held in Yerevan, September 17-20, 2007. The creation of effective innovation clusters is a key success factor in strengthening the competitiveness of the countries in the ECA region, and business incubators and technology parks can play a crucial role in this process. The conference succeeded in raising awareness of this reality and in engaging partners and stakeholders to support innovation-driven enterprises in the region. Indeed, one of the main conclusions of the first two days is that networking and mutual learning can substantially increase the effectiveness of business incubators.

The conference agenda and discussions were future-driven, and there are already several best practices and lessons learned that can be drawn from developments both regionally and globally. Policymakers are beginning to place increased significance on the role of Innovation & Entrepreneurship policies in reaching broader economic goals, and on the impact that business incubation can have on social and human development. For example, Armenia, the host country of the conference, is in the process of implementing its national IT policy for 2006 – 2010, with the specific intention of strengthening its competitiveness and creating new jobs, and is a regional leader in developing innovation clusters. The Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Armenia opened the conference and stressed the importance of having the opportunity for exchanging knowledge and best practices on innovation, and for further leveraging the role of business incubators and technology parks in empowering the ultimate driver of any economy – its human capital.

The conference was jointly organized by the Information for Development Program (infoDev), the ECAbit Network of Business Incubators and Technology Parks of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) of Armenia. Partners of the conference include The World Bank, the Government of Armenia, USAID-CAPS, Microsoft, and Viasphere Technopark. More information about the conference conclusions and materials will be posted shortly on www.innovationeca2007.org, www.infoDev.org and www.idisc.net, an online knowledge resource and community space for business incubators.  

infoDev’s Incubator Initiative was established in 2002 with the support of the Government of Japan to provide financial support, technical assistance and partnership networks for technology innovators and business incubators in development countries. The Initiative has provided financial and technical assistance to over 70 business incubators in over 50 countries. This conference is part of the regional networking and knowledge-sharing events that are organized annually across its five networks (ECA, Asia, MENA, Africa, LAC). More information about infoDev’s Incubator Initiative can be found at www.infodev.org/businessincubation.