Clean Energy Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Inclusive Growth

Side Event: Clean Energy Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Inclusive Growth

Timing
Date: Friday, 19th June 2015          Time: 17:00-18:15         Room: Geheime Ratstube       
Duration: 75 minutes
Background
There is general agreement amongst governments, multilateral institutions and the private sector that the introduction of innovative clean energy technologies is the key to the mitigation of climate change, as well as achieving sustainable industrialization and inclusive growth in developing and emerging economies. This holds particular significance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups that often develop the most innovative concepts but lack the capacity, networks and capital to commercialize their concepts and achieve national and regional scales of market penetration. SMEs are contributing substantially to income, output, employment and economic growth in both high and low income countries; it is estimated that over 95% of enterprises across the world are SMEs, accounting for around 60% of private sector employment. However, despite their economic strength and innovation potential, SMEs remain at the lower end of global value chains; deploying inefficient obsolete technologies/practices and using unskilled manpower.
The promotion of clean energy technology innovations for SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs, therefore, has the potential to contribute to the mitigation of climate change, while also simultaneously strengthening the comparative advantage and competitiveness of the industrial sector in developing and emerging economies; thereby contributing to job creation, improved living standards and the development of sustainable and inclusive regional and global value chains. To this end, UNIDO and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have developed a global flagship programme, the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP) for SMEs in strong partnership with the Cleantech Open, USA. The GCIP, currently operating in Armenia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey, takes an innovation ecosystem approach to identify a pool of promising entrepreneurs and start-ups, and supports them through ongoing mentoring, webinars and networking events to grow their innovative concepts into full-fledged business models ready for the national and global markets. The intended expansion of the GCIP to other countries under the GEF-6 funding cycle will allow UNIDO and its partners to build on and scale-up the success of the programme, facilitating the creation of new strategic partnerships and networks, as well as strengthening linkages between entrepreneurs and investors across the globe for promoting North-South and South-South cooperation, which in turn would support clean energy technology innovation ecosystems.
Chair/Moderator
Dr. Pradeep Monga, Director, Energy Branch, UNIDO
Keynote Address
Datuk Dr. Mohd. Yusoff Sulaiman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Industry – Government Group for High Technology
Panellists

Dr. Sinan Tandogan, Head, Strategic Programs, Technology and Innovation Funding Directorate, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

Ms. Supa Tangkittikhun, Director, Division II of Sectoral Industries Development, Department of Industrial Promotion

Dr. Tsakani Lotten Mthombeni, General Manager: Energy, Technology Innovation Agency

Mr. David Rodgers, Senior Climate Change Specialist, The Global Environment Facility

Dr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation

Mr. Rex Northen, Director, Cleantech Open Global 
Discussants – tbc
Setting
The 75 minute session will be structured as follows:
5 minutes                       Opening Remarks
5 minutes                       Presentation by the keynote speaker
50 minutes                     An open discussion among all panellists to explore the key issues (facilitated by the moderator)
15 minutes                     Questions from the floor and final summary/wrap-up
 
Key Questions

What are the experiences and best practices that have helped small businesses to innovate and promote clean technologies in your countries? What opportunities exist for cross-sectoral and inter-regional partnerships?

How can small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from innovations in clean technologies, and what kind of support do they need to innovate and scale up innovations at a business scale?

What are the steps that need to be taken by countries to address the challenges for scaling up cleantech innovations in SME sectors in emerging and developing countries (i.e. regulatory frameworks, access to financing, markets, policies like feed-in tariffs)?

What role can be played by global financial funds and mechanisms like the Global Environment Facility in promoting cleantech innovations in SME sectors?
Biographies
Chair

 

Dr. Pradeep Monga, Director, Energy Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Biography

An energy expert with over 30 years of working experience in the field of energy policy, strategic planning 

and clean energy technologies, Dr. Pradeep Monga is presently working as Director of the Energy Branch at 

the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna. His primary responsibility is to provide 

strategic policy advice to member states on sustainable energy and industrial issues, and lead an inter-disciplinary 

team of energy experts, planners and networks of international energy technology centers at UNIDO to promote technical 

cooperation projects and partnerships in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy and low carbon technologies 

in developing countries and countries in transition.

Keynote

 

Datuk Dr. Mohd. Yusoff Sulaiman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology
Biography
Datuk Dr. Mohd. Yusoff Sulaiman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT). He has headed MIGHT since 2008. MIGHT, an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department, is a unique public-private sector partnership mandated to harness technology for business. Datuk Dr. Mohd. Yusoff joined MIGHT in 1995 after a 10-year stint at Universiti Teknologi Mara and another two years in the advertising industry.
He specializes in Air Transport Management and holds a MSc. in Transport from the University of Wales, United Kingdom. He specializes in technology management and holds a Ph.D from Universiti Teknikal Melaka Malaysia (UTEM) and a MSc. from the University of Wales, United Kingdom. He is currently the Chairman of Mybiomass Sdn Bhd and A-Bio Sdn Bhd, and a Director to the Boards of Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP), Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) and the Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI). He is also the Secretary of the Malaysian Aerospace Council (MAC) and Secretariat Head for the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC), both chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is a Member of the Governing Board of the Regional Centre for Science and Technology Business Incubator (IRIS), appointed by UNESCO. He is also a Fellow of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology (AAET), the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and the founding member of the East Asian Society for Transport Studies (EASTS), Tokyo, and member of the Governing Board of the Regional Center for Science and Technology Business Incubator, Economic Operation Organisation (ECO).

Panellists
 

 

 
 
 

Dr. Sinan Tandogan, Head, Strategic Programs, Technology and Innovation Funding Directorate, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
Biography
Dr. Sinan Tandogan is working as the Head of Entrepreneurship Support Group in Technology and Innovation Support Programs Directorate at TUBITAK. His responsibilities are focused on design and coordination of new policy instruments to support nationwide technological entrepreneurship, commercialization of academic and industrial research, SME mentorship and venture capital funding. He is currently the Program Manager of numerous TUBITAK Support Programs and Program Coordinator of the GCIP-Turkey.
Dr. Tandogan is currently conducting research on effectiveness of public policies, evaluation methodologies, innovation economics and knowledge-based entrepreneurship. He is also teaching graduate courses on research commercialization, public R&D policies and evaluation methodologies at Middle East Technical University in Ankara. He holds BSc. and MSc. degrees in Electronic Engineering (METU) and he received his Ph.D. from Science and Technology Policy Studies (METU).

 
 

Ms. Supa Tangkittikhun, Director, Division II of Sectoral Industries Development, Department of Industrial Promotion
Biography
Ms. Supa Tangkittikhun currently holds the position of Director of Division II of Sectoral Industries Development in the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP), Ministry of Industry of Thailand. The DIP’s key activities include the enhancement of industrial networking of relevant public and private sectors; recommending policies and measures on development, as well as supporting capacity building of SMEs, community-based enterprises, entrepreneurs, and service providers. Before rejoining the DIP in 2012, Ms. Tangkittikhun was the Minister Counselor (Industry) of the Office of Industrial Affairs of the Royal Thai Embassy in Austria.

 
 
 

Dr. Tsakani Lotten Mthombeni, Head: Energy Strategic Technology Area, Technology Innovation Agency
Biography
Dr. Tsakani Lotten Mthombeni currently holds the position of Head: Energy Strategic Technology Area, at the national Technology Innovation Agency, tasked with developing and implementing an energy technology innovation strategy aimed at funding early stage technology development through to commercialization. In this role he interacts with academics, entrepreneurs, industrialists and venture capital communities in assisting to bridge the innovation chasm between good commercially viable technologies and the market. He manages an energy technologies investment portfolio of ca. R200m with a team of professionals, ranging from concentrated solar mirror technologies, energy management technologies, novel photovoltaic cells, waste-to-energy technologies and biofuels projects. Dr. Mthombeni holds a BSc (with Hons.) Elec. Eng from the University of Cape Town and MSc. and Ph.D degrees from Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, both in electrical engineering.

 
 

Mr. David Rodgers, Senior Climate Change Specialist, The Global Environment Facility
Biography
Mr. Rodgers is a Senior Climate Change Specialist at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a portfolio emphasizing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy projects and programs. Mr. Rodgers also has the lead for GEF’s private sector strategy and manages the GEF private-sector set-aside, including the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme for SMEs. Prior to the GEF, Mr. Rodgers served with the United States Department of Energy in Washington, DC, for 23 years, rising to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary. During his career at the Department of Energy, Mr. Rodgers has extensive technical and managerial experience with regulatory development, research and development, deployment and commercialization, partnership development, business systems, and planning and analysis. Mr. Rodgers has received degrees in chemical engineering and computer science from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master’s in public management from the University of Maryland. He is a former Presidential Management Fellow. In the private sector, Mr. Rodgers has experience in the chemical, petroleum, and information technology sectors. 

 

Dr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation
Biography
Dr. Bagrat Yengibaryan holds a MBA from the American University of Armenia (1994) and a Ph.D in Mathematics, Armenian National Academy of Sciences (1997). Dr. Yengibaryan has been the Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) – IT Development and Incubation Agency of Armenia – since 2002, managing and coordinating the EIF activities directed towards business development, marketing and promotion, management, start-up creation, assistance to companies in improving professional and business skills, creation of learning partnerships within the industry and universities. He is co-founder and board member of the Microsoft Innovation Center in Armenia and mLab ECA Regional Lab for Mobile Applications. As the Director of EIF, Dr. Yengibaryan is also managing activities of the Regional Armenian-Indian IT Training Center of Excellence, Gyumri Technology Centre and Vanadzor Technology Centre.

 

Mr. Rex Northen, Director, Cleantech Open Global
Biography
As a director of Cleantech Open Global, Mr. Northen is focused on building the infrastructure and partnerships to support the growth of the Cleantech Open around the world. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Cleantech Open in the United States. Mr. Northen is an entrepreneur with a long history of building and managing companies and successful teams. He has product development, management and technical expertise having founded and served as CEO with technology companies both in Europe and the United States. His background includes experience in the design, development and implementation of business automation systems as well as sales, marketing, online marketing, and consulting. Mr. Northen has worked with many hundreds of companies including a diverse range of startups and global corporations. He holds an M.A. with Honors from Oxford University.

 

 

 

 
Format
The Side Event will follow a “Davos-style” format. The moderator will briefly introduce the topic of the session, as well as each panellist, before directing questions to each speaker.
 
Contact points
To discuss the session layout and theme, please kindly contact the following persons.
Ms. Pamela Mikschofsky, p.mikschofsky [at] unido.org, Energy Branch, UNIDO
Ms. Olga Gordiievska, o.gordiievska [at] unido.org, Energy Branch, UNIDO

Date

Jun 19 2015
Expired!

Time

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm