Innovation

Kaspersky Wins Asia Entrepreneur Award

Kaspersky (Russia) Lab CEO wins Asian entrepreneur award. Russian secure management solutions firm Kaspersky Lab’s co-founder and CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, has won the Asia Entrepreneur Alliance (AEA) International Distinguished Entrepreneur as CEO of growth and expansion

According to Eugene Kaspersky, the award gives the company a boost in confidence to capture even more market share in Malaysia and the rest of the Asia Pacific

“Currently, Kaspersky Lab holds about 50 per cent of the personal information technology software market in Malaysia and is looking to increase its share of market in 2010,” said Kaspersky. “The brand offers wide-ranging protection against all forms of threats such as viruses, spyware, hackers and spam. It protects more than 300 million systems globally ranging from work, home and mobile users.”

“This recognition would not have been possible without the team of Kaspersky Lab in the Asia Pacific,� he said. “The time and effort that they have invested in the products, services, and goodwill of the brand is simply mind blowing. The partners in the region also played important roles in making all achievements possible. My sincere thanks and appreciation to all.”

Asia Entrepreneur Alliance (AEA) is an international not-for-profit business organisation which consists of entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, India, Australia, the US and Africa

The AEA-International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award is organised by Asia Entrepreneur Alliance (AEA) and Global CEO Magazine with one purpose, which is to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of the top entrepreneur and business leaders in Asia

Skype CEO Sees Growth in Middle East and Asia

Skype CEO Sees Growth in Middle East and Asia. Skype CEO Continues To See Growth In Middle East; Bets Big On Asia

Internet calling service Skype Ltd. Tuesday said that it continues to see growth opportunities in the Middle East despite being banned in parts of the area and is optimistic about the company’s growth potential in Asia.

“There are a couple of governments that officially banned Skype…but what we see in most of the developing world (is that) they are embracing Skype,” Chief Executive Officer Josh Silverman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Silverman is in Singapore to attend the CommunicAsia Conference that began Tuesday.

“I would say, we see growth in the Middle East in general,” Silverman said without getting into details on the ban of the service in the United Arab Emirates.

Currently, Skype cannot be downloaded in Oman, the UAE and Kuwait, although the software can be used if it is previously installed on a computer. The UAE Telecommunication Regulatory Authority said in March that Skype will be allowed to offer a greater range of services in the country if they are partnered with existing licensed telecom operators.

Silverman said that Skype sees strong growth potential in the Asia Pacific as the region has become globally connected due to an increasing number of expatriates and growing international trade.

“Special to Asia is that many people are having their first internet experience on a smart phone. So a big focus of ours is for them to have a really compelling experience,” Silverman said.

Skype has over 500 million registered users around the world and is adding 300,000 users a day. The company aspires to have 100 million personal computers shipped with Skype preloaded in 2011. Silverman declined to give growth projections by region.

Silverman said that his company was keen to offer Skype to BlackBerry and other mobile platforms in Asia. In February, Verizon Wireless announced that it was offering the Skype application on smartphones in the U.S.

On China, Silverman said that Skype’s local partner Tomonline was helping it comply with government regulations and that there was demand from Chinese making cross-border calls.

“We think being part of a global conversation is very important for Chinese citizens, entrepreneurs and Chinese families,” Silverman said.

He would not comment on whether his company plans a listing, saying only that Skype is profitable and has enough money for acquisitions “if it makes sense.”

India Franchise & Retail Opportunity Show (FRO)

FRO Mumbai on May 22 and 23, 2010 At 28th FRO’ 10 Mumbai, business visitors will discover a world of business concepts, showcased by multiple brands from various industries.

The show this year not only brings new exhibitors but also gets innovative concepts as a fresh wave to the business visitors. Brands need credible business-to-business platform to launch their opportunities, that ensures high visibility, serious investors and large networking prospect that gathers the complete industry together

The multi-city FRO Expo in its 28th edition is returning to Nehru Centre Mumbai in its 6th annual version. The show draws thousands of people from all over India and also neighbouring countries and almost close to 30% people would be there for most part of two days to make the most of the sizzling business environment exist in franchise fraternity. Supported by Indian Franchise Association

Social Entrepreneur Competition Asia 2010

Social Entrepreneur of the Year Competition Asia 2010 by Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship

The Social Entrepreneur of the Year was established to recognize outstanding social entrepreneurs in Asia and around the globe

The Regional Search in Asia is open to all organizations in the region, except India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines where national competitions is already open or planned

Top 3 most important criteria are

• Innovation
• Sustainability
• Direct social impact

The Schwab Foundation will also consider the 2 criteria

• Reach and Scope
• Replicability

The Schweitzerland-based Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit, independent and neutral organization, founded in 1998

Their purpose to advance social entrepreneurship and to foster social entrepreneurs as an important catalyst for societal innovation and progress

JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award 2010

Malaysia – The internationally recognised JCI CYEA Award is organised by the Malaysian Junior Chamber International Petaling Jaya and endorsed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

The Malaysian IT Ministers says: “Creativity is the key element towards the positive transformation of a business. One just needs to have an idea and put it into practice, no matter how big or small it is”.

Source: Malaysian National News Agency

Read the full story here: Young Entrepreneurs Urged To Strive For International Recognition

Source:

Government Problems when Promoting High-tech Entrepreneurship

INNOVATION & The Pitfalls of Promoting Entrepreneurship – A new book examines the challenges — and potential benefits — of government programs designed to foster entrepreneurship

Lots of governments would like to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and venture capital in their regions — but many don’t know how to do it effectively.

In his new book Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed — and What to Do About It (Princeton University Press, 2009) Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, examines which types of policies to promote entrepreneurship and venture capital tend to work — and which don’t

Lerner supports his carefully researched analysis with numerous examples chosen from around the globe

Read a MIT Sloane Management Review By Martha E. Mangelsdorf

• The Pitfalls of Promoting Entrepreneurship

Singapore Innovfest 2010

Singapore InnovFest 2010 – 5-7 March

Join in a not-to-be-missed festival of innovation and entrepreneurship events that aims to boost investments, technology transfer and networking opportunities within Asia’s finance, business and technology communities

InnovFest 2010 consists of  Technology Commercialisation Forum 2010 and The Enterprise Connection Networking Dinner (by invitation only)

(5-6th March): Asia’s premier tech transfer event is back! Organised by the NUS Industry Liaison Office (ILO), the Technology Commercialisation Forum showcases key innovations and emerging technologies from Asia. Highlights that participants can look forward to include potential investment, licensing and partnership opportunities

(7th March): Hosted by NUS Enterprise, The Enterprise Connection is the networking event of the year for Singapore and international entrepreneurs, inventors, investors and tech transfer professionals. This by-invitation-only event is the ideal platform for participants to connect, share ideas and explore new partnerships.

You can also check out the Asian Business Angel Forum (8-9th March) held after InnovFest 2010.

Entrepreneur SME & SMB in Asia

Entrepreneurship in Asia

On our blog for SME and SMB you will find useful information for small business start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Find helpful entrepreneur resources about small business management, financing, marketing & technology, OEM, Open Source and website development

You can also learn about entrepreneurs and creativity

Please visit us soon – our website is

• www.entrepreneur-sme.asia

Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards

The prestigious Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards is a world-class awards recognizing and honoring business leaders who have shown outstanding performance and tenacity in developing successful businesses within the region.

Organized by Enterprise Asia and supported by local governments and businesses, the awards aim to band leading entrepreneurs across the region to spur greater innovation, fair practices and growth in entrepreneurship.

It hopes to be a platform to encourage continued leadership towards sustainable economic development for the region.

Categories

A regional award for outstanding entrepreneurship, APEA is built on the idea that for entrepreneurs to continue innovating and sustaining their leadership there must be three elements in place: benchmarking against best practices, recognition of past and current efforts, and continued publicity and public attention.

The awards categories are:

• Outstanding Entrepreneur Awards
• Most Promising Entrepreneurs Awards
• Special Achievement Awards
  • Entrepreneur of the Year
  • Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
  • Young Entrepreneur of the Year
  • Lifetime Achievement Award

Asia Entrepreneurs & Asian Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is often a difficult undertaking, as a vast majority of new businesses fail. Nevertheless such undertaking supposes the development of more than just a business venture.

Entrepreneurial activities are substantially different depending on the type of organization that is being started. Entrepreneurship ranges in scale from solo projects (even involving the entrepreneur only part-time) to major undertakings creating many job opportunities.

Many “high value” entrepreneurial ventures seek venture capital or angel funding in order to raise capital to build the business. Angel investors generally seek returns of 20-30% and more extensive involvement in the business.

Many kinds of organizations now exist to support would-be entrepreneurs, including specialized government agencies, business incubators, science parks, and some NGOs.

Lately more holistic conceptualizations of entrepreneurship as a specific mindset (see also entrepreneurial mindset) resulting in entrepreneurial initiatives e.g. in the form of social entrepreneurship, political entrepreneurship, or knowledge entrepreneurship emerged