SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/81866
Inaugural Tech Summit to Help Forge International Partnerships by Jemima Kiss Texas at Austin. Aiming to benefi t from a larger pool of resources and encourage broader dissemination of their shared expertise, this shared group of researchers has variously explored stem cell engineering, sus- tainable energy and interactive digital media. For Portugal, technology and innovation are key to transforming vulnerable traditional export industries of shoes, textiles and furniture. Artur Pimenta Alves, co-director of the digital media department at the University of Porto, says the creation of science parks has been crucial in encouraging domestic talent to develop their expertise within Portugal. "Th e current degradation of the eco- nomic situation led young people to leave Portugal to look for oppor- tunities to practice," he said. "Being entrepreneurial I SXSW's inaugural Tech Summit is aiming to achieve. Expert panels from 20 countries around the world will illustrate their successes and share their diffi culties, describing the domestic environment for business opportuni- ties as well as the hottest new trends. "Th e sheer scale of SXSW means there is no equivalent in Europe," said Heitor Alvelos, part of the coor- dination team for digital media at UT Austin - Portugal. "It's a real opportunity to fi nd out about cutting edge technology, to grasp that and get a sense for what is developing elsewhere. Th ose relationships are particularly important for Portugal because it has been quite an insular country, so it is making signifi cant progress by reaching out." Alvelos also says the business climate in the U.S. makes it a little response to that. We want to promote and give visibility to the companies so far installed and to create opportuni- ties for exchange." Th at exchange is exactly is therefore a good what t is fi ve years since the Portuguese government established a €177m ($242m) partnership project to link its best national research insti- tutions with MIT, Harvard Medical School and the University of SUMMIT TECHNOLOGY easier to make new connections. "Th e European approach is a little more reserved, so this makes us reconsider that." For Pimenta Alves, this is his fi rst SXSW and he is hoping for a keen mix of academia and business. He hopes to learn from other international success stories, and says Portugal has much to off er in its e-government expertise and IT adoption in schools. "Th e fast rate of adoption in all fronts of these new technologies show that our popu- lation in general is very open to adopting new technologies, and this makes Portugal an interesting territory to try new applications." While the government off ers partial support to entrepreneurs or com- panies developing new technologies, corporate funding is less reliable. "Most Portuguese VCs are fi nance-oriented rather than business-ori- ented, even if recently there has been some venture capital coming from a fi rst generation of entrepreneurs that is more in line with that," said Pimenta Alves. "Th ere is also little support on programs that 38 SXSW ORLD / M ARCH F ILM- I A 201 1 stimulate the linking of start-ups with big companies in all sectors." Flip to the other side of the world, and the opportunities and chal- lenges in the Indian technology sector are vastly diff erent. A lack of basic technological infrastructure can have widespread implications for citizens. Sean Blagsvedt, CEO of innovative recruitment startup Babajob, pointed to the development of universal identifi cation numbers based on retinal scans and fi ngerprinting. Blagsvedt, a veteran of Microsoft Research India, believes the government's long-term UID initiative to provide a unique ID for every Indian will have a positive impact on the social and economic development of India's poorest people. "Western folks don't always appreciate the value of things like social security numbers. In a country where less than 10% have any sort of ID or birth certifi cate, the average Indian can't get a credit card, apply for a formal small business loan or check on the police record of a potential employee," he said. "Th is lack of trust systems creates huge barriers to commerce, class eleva- tion and entrepreneurship among the poor. We see the UID enabling a new level of trust and security as employers hire cooks, drivers and low-end offi ce workers and hope- fully raise wages." India's telecommunications regulator that shows the number of mobile phone users growing by 500,000 every day, with more than 530 mil- lion active subscribers to date. India is already the second-largest mobile advertising market in the world after the U.S. Combined with the pro- liferation of low-cost smartphones, the boom in internet-based services and the launch of 3G networks, there is everything to play for in the Indian mobile space. Despite the huge potential, funding is, again, a problem for domestic talent. "Th ere is a shortage of truly early-stage venture capital," says Madhava. "Angel investors and seed-stage capital are diffi cult to fi nd and practically non-existent. I don't doubt that world-beating global talent exists in Bangalore, but fi nding seed capital in India is still a major challenge for many start-ups." As for SXSW, Madhava says the festival needs to brace itself. "We hope to highlight just how explosive the mobile trends are in India," he said. "Most folks in the U.S. and Europe still don't understand the size of the opportunity." ■ And mobile is, of course, the essential subject for discussion of developing markets. Nandu Madhava, CEO of healthcare site mDhil.com, points to estimates by The SXSW Technology Summit will be held on Wednesday, March 16 and Thursday, March 17 from 11am - 6pm on the 6th fl oor of the Hilton Austin (500 East 4th St.). The event is open to all registered SXSW badgeholders.