Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network

Incubating Innovations into Enterprise: Experience of GIAN

Presentation by: Dr. Vijaya Vittala, GIAN (North East) Chintan Bakshi (GIAN West)

25th September, 2004

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Origin and Evolution

First GIAN was set-up in 1997 in Ahmedabad with the support of Gujarat Government, SRISTI, IIMA and later NIF National Innovation Foundation (NIF) was set up in the year 2000 as a recognition of the GIAN model and its replication in the rest of India Subsequently GIANs have been set-up in Jaipur (for North India), at IIT Guwahati (for North East) and three GIAN Cells have been set up in South India The ultimate objective is to develop capabilities to incubate hundreds of grassroots technologies and traditional knowledge into successful businesses all across the country leading to an innovation led, high impact and sustainable development

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The Golden Triangle of Creativity

Innovation

Investment

Enterprise

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Major Activities and Domain

Technology Incubation and Prototype Development IPR protection Business Development and Technology Commercialization

GIAN (West) Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa GIAN (N.East) The Seven North Eastern States

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The Incubation Process

NIF H B Network / GIAN NIF / GIAN / RAC GIAN / Summer Interns / Volunteers HB Network SRISTI

Project Closed
No

Grassroots Innovations

PIC & Technical Documentation

Technology Validation & Innovation Assessment / PAS

Competitive Benchmarking

Go / No Go Decision

Direct

Micro Venture Innovation Fund

Yes

Mass Marketing

Commercial Production

Pilot Scale Production

Testing and Prototype Development

Incubation & Business Plan

IPR Protection

Entrepreneur / Innovator / NGOs / GIAN Brand (?)

Entrepreneur / Entrepreneur / Entrepreneur / Innovator GIAN / Disha Innovator / PartnerInnovator / Partner / Consultants / NID etc. Summer Interns Incubators. Incubators.

GIAN / NIF Patent Attorney

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Status of Projects GIAN (West)

Completed (16) Aaruni Bullock Cart Pulley Cotton Stripper Motorcycle Sprayer Kittanal Natural Water Cooler Foot Sprayer Kushal Sprayer Eri Silk Aaron Flywheel Fiber Optic Conduit Coupler Gum Scrapper Auto Air Kick Pump Bicycle Sprayer Bicycle Hoe Hand Driven Sprayer Ongoing (15) Vanraj Tractor Motorcycle Ploughing Machine Oil Expeller Buttonhole Edging Machine Motor Protection Device Small Diesel Engine Double Acting Reciprocating Pump Innovative Application of Wind Mill Auto Compression Sprayer Herbal Formulations Dual Blade Sickle Innovative Tong Innovative Design of Check Dam Electrically Operated Kerosene Stove Matchsticks from Natural Fiber New Projects (10) Seed Varieties Pulse Thresher Automatic Thread Winder for Kite Flying Wind Operated Power Generator Modified Blower for Air Curtains Jabbar Gear for Rickshaws Kero Gas Stove Key Way Making Fixture Motorized Sprayer (4.5 HP Tractor) Button Stitching Machine Projects Identified for Cross Regional Applications (6) Exercise cum Washing Machine (Kerala) Tile Making Machine (UP) Milking Machine (Kerala) Post Harvest Groundnut Harvester (Rajasthan) Tea Making Machine (Rajasthan) Shaver for Sheep (Rajasthan)

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Status of Projects GIAN (West)

Incubation support extended MVIF Investments made (nos.) MVIF Investments made (Rs. Lacs) Technology transfers undertaken Enterprises set up IPR Protection filed (total) IPR protection filed (US) 47 9 3.13 12 10 26 6

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Organization Structure
GIAN Board (State Government, Industry and Academia)

Hony. Secretary (Prof. Anil Gupta)

Chief Innovation Manager

Technical

Business Development

Admn / Accounts

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Case Studies
1. 2. 3. 4. 10 HP Mini Tractor Motor Protection Device Buttonhole Making Machine Motorcycle Driven Plough

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10 HP Mini Tractor
y Ideally farmers

Suited

for

small

Market potential of 5000 mini tractors in India Approx. Size of market opportunities is Rs.50 crore /annum

Capable of performing all farm operations except deepploughing Cost Effective Target MRP of Rs.1.25 lakhs Average fuel consumption of 1 lit/hrs Simple design make easy to maintain Custom designed transmission unit (Integral type) Ergonomically & aesthetically designed by NID

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10 HP Mini Tractor

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10 HP Mini Tractor
Some Major Highlights of the Project yThe project team that managed the technology incubation process comprised: Innovator Tractor consultant, taking care of the technology VA NID for design inputs GIAN for overall project coordination
yThe entire prototype development process was internally managed by GIAN yVarious large tractor manufacturers were approached for tech transfer at early stage or for partnership in the proto development process, without much success yThe tractor was submitted for Commercial Certification testing at CFMTTI, Budhni in May 2003 yThe final certification is still pending

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10 HP Mini Tractor
Key Questions
yIs GIAN the right agency to project manage such high technology incubation projects? yCan the process be optimized without the involvement of a professional entrepreneur? yHow easy is it to get entrepreneurs involved at an early stages for such projects where the first prototype is crude? What can be the mechanism for this? yOn hindsight, how should the project have been managed?

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Motor Protection Device

yThe only one of its kind multifeature protection device

Prevents motors from burn-outs from 21 potential fault conditions which can occur like: Overheating Dry run Phase reversal Voltage fluctuations Provides earth protection and auto starter Suitable for working with motors from 3HP to 100 HP range Modular design, therefore ease in customization

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Motor Protection Device

Some Major Highlights of the Project
yThe innovator had enquiries from a large number of farmers in and around his village in Solapur yGiven the strength of the technology and positive market feedback, MVIF funding of Rs. 75,000 was made for pilot scale production and test marketing The project was executed by the innovator with the support of mentor in Pune, Mr. Prakash Parkhi, who is also a small entrepreneur As of date, 12 units have been sold, 7 installed and another 12 units are likely to be sold in the next few days The innovator also claims a number of enquiries from his village region 2 interested small entrepreneurs wiling to buy the technology at this stage for Maharashtra and AP on non-exclusive basis - inability / unwillingness to pay a fair upfront valuation Large players like Crompton and L&T have been approached but not with much positive results

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Motor Protection Device

Key Questions
yIn technologies like these, what is the best way to capitalize, given: The players who can pay well are not interested The small entrepreneurs are not willing / unable to pay the value upfront that would cover the cost of incubation The fear of duplication and loss of IP if the gradual scaling up process is adopted

How can such technologies where the IP is essentially an intimate knowledge of consumer needs which have been encapsulated in a fairly high tech product? How can the efforts of the innovator be fairly rewarded in cases such as these where the innovator has spent years in getting that intimate understanding of consumer needs and careful selection of the appropriate technology to satisfy that need? Can we depend on a primarily royalty driven revenue model?

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Buttonhole Making Machine

Radically simple design ensuring high degree of maintainability Designed with the tailoring business in mind Capacity of 100-120 buttonholes per hour Full shuttle mechanism with 96 stitches per buttonhole The technology is at incubation stage and needs design and technology value addition

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Buttonhole Making Machine

Some Major Highlights of the Project
Extremely tough competition in the market from Japanese (Juki), American (Brother and Singer) and now Chinese machines The competition is further compounded by the large scale availability of cheap second hand dumped buttonhole making machines of the above brands The first prototype of the machine is very crude, though functional Significant refinement is required before the machine can be seriously pitched for commercialization The crude model was shown to some large distributors of buttonhole machines, branded and local manufacturers of sewing machines and Sewing Machine R&D Centre (Ludh.) all were negative The market research showed a need gap, especially in the tailoring business in small towns and rural sewing clusters A project team was formed including the innovator and a small but high quality workshop of spinning machines TePP support available

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Buttonhole Making Machine

Key Questions Who will commercialize the machine? There are no buttonhole machine manufacturers in India The sewing machine industry is highly fragmented with proliferation of local brands Even the well known brands like Usha and Prakash are very low on original R&D and technology Can there be commercial viability for the machine given the competition from the second hand imported machines? Though these machines fill a demand gap for a low cost machine, however, these machines are ultimately designed for the garment manufacturing unit and not for the local tailoring business

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

Attachment which converts a motorcycle into a mini-tractor Capable of doing agriculture operations like: Cultivating Ploughing Spraying (with a special attachment) Easy assembly and disengagement - convertibility time about 15 minutes A highly economical machine for small farmers and ideal for bullet owners Immense market opportunity given the large number of bullet motorcycles operational in villages of India Price of the attachment Rs. 20,000

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

Major Highlights Innovator has sold more than 30 units in Saurasthra region NID has provided design inputs in the project and a new gear box has been developed from TePP support Demos of the machine were held in the Pune region though the demos were not successful in and around the Pune but interest was generated for the Baramati region

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

Key Questions How can this technology be capitalized, which is best manufactured at the local level? Conducting only a couple of demos in Pune involved high efforts and transaction costs. Can any existing network be tapped?

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Other Issues / Questions

How can the spirit of enterprise be built across the value chain? How can the gap between the crude prototypes and the entrepreneur be filled? How can we get entrepreneur partner at a very early stages? What sort of entrepreneurs? Is there place for a private entity that works on the projects of GIAN with the specific objective of bridging that gap? Could the diffusion of technologies like Motorcycle Driven Plough happen more effectively in the presence of a local level business ecosystem (innovation, enterprise, institutional linkages, mentors strongly networked locally)?

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Thank You

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