Namibia Business Innovation Center (NBIC)
Encyclopedia
The Namibia Business Innovation Center (NBIC) has been established at the Polytechnic of Namibia
in 2009 as an independent platform in Namibia
to promote business innovation and development on a national level. The center's mission is to inform the public about innovation
issues, motivate individuals to become entrepreneur
s, educate and train entrepreneurs, actively support companies during their start-up and growth phase and foster technology transfer
between industry and institutions.
meetings are being hosted. It's designed to inspire and motivate potential entrepreneurs.
s in Namibia. The basic aim is to help researchers commercialize their achievements and equally to allow companies to access the academic potential.
on the NBIC premises including all infrastructure
like back office
and telecommunications at reduced rent.
related issues. Speakers and Trainers are being invited from internationally recognized institutions from different countries such as South Africa
and Finland
.
, the Development Bank of Namibia, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland)
and from Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst
(German Developmentservice - DED).
Polytechnic of Namibia
The Polytechnic of Namibia, locally also known as Poly or Polytechnic, is an institute of tertiary education in Windhoek, Namibia. It has been established by Act 33 / 1994 of the Namibian Parliament.-History:...
in 2009 as an independent platform in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
to promote business innovation and development on a national level. The center's mission is to inform the public about innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
issues, motivate individuals to become entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s, educate and train entrepreneurs, actively support companies during their start-up and growth phase and foster technology transfer
Technology transfer
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that...
between industry and institutions.
Innovation programs
These especially feature the "Innovation Marketplace (I'm)" where inspirational talks, expos and regular networkingBusiness networking
Business networking is a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities. A business network is a type of social network whose reason for existing is business activity...
meetings are being hosted. It's designed to inspire and motivate potential entrepreneurs.
Research and development programmes
The R&D Programmes target to foster co-operations between established companies, start-up companies and academic institutionAcademic institution
Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university.- Types of academic institutions include :...
s in Namibia. The basic aim is to help researchers commercialize their achievements and equally to allow companies to access the academic potential.
Entrepreneurship programmes
These programmes are designed to grant entrepreneurs support through the process of their business start-up. This would include the business planning, the establishment of the firm and mentoring through the growth phase. It may also include allowance into the incubator, where entrepreneurs are granted office spaceOffice Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
on the NBIC premises including all infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
like back office
Back office
A back office is a part of most corporations where tasks dedicated to running the company itself takes place. The term "Back office" comes from the building layout of early companies where the front office would contain the sales and other customer-facing staff and the back office would be those...
and telecommunications at reduced rent.
Education and training
NBIC provides trainings and workshops on innovation and leadershipLeadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
related issues. Speakers and Trainers are being invited from internationally recognized institutions from different countries such as South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Partners
The NBIC receives funding and support from national as well as international institutions such as the Bank of NamibiaBank of Namibia
The Bank of Namibia was established in 1993 to replace the never opened Namibia Reserve Bank. The Bank of Namibia is the only institution that is permitted to issue the Namibian dollar by authority that has been given to it under an Act of the Namibian Parliament. The head of the Bank of Namibia is...
, the Development Bank of Namibia, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland)
Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Finland)
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is a ministry in the Finnish Government and is responsible for preparing and implementing the government's foreign policy.-Organisation:...
and from Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst
Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst
The Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst was a German development organization active between 1963 and 2010. It was one of the leading European development services for personnel cooperation. It was focused on sending professional Germans to work in developing countries on small development projects...
(German Developmentservice - DED).
External links
- http://nbic.polytechnic.edu.na
- http://www.polytechnic.edu.na/docs/nbic_040408.pdf (Pressrelease: Polytechnic of Namibia dated 4 April 2008)