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| Soldiers
turned venture capitalists? |
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| Venture capitalists
at work. |
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Imagine
that you are a venture capitalist with $100,000
to invest. How would you invest your money?
What is your criteria for selecting the
winning project?
The Ministry of Defence’s
(MINDEF) second Innovation Conference saw
the creation of MINDEF’s first innovation
marketplace. The event, which was held at
the SAFTI Warrior Hall on 22 April 2004,
was organised by the MINDEF Innovation Office.
The opening of the marketplace was officiated
by Mr Cedric Foo, Minister of State for Defence.
As “Mayor” of the marketplace,
he was invited to ring the “opening
bell”, following the tradition of the
New York Stock Exchange.
According to MOS, the MINDEF Innovation Marketplace
is a testament to the following:
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A possible
view of the future of R&D funding
in MINDEF and the SAF. Here, anyone,
not just scientists and researchers,
have the opportunity to receive funding
to develop prototypes and conduct trials
on promising ideas. |
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The
decision to fund one project over another
can be done in an “open market”
of sorts, where only the strongest will
survive. |
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By experiencing
innovation in action as venture capitalists,
unit commanders are able to continue
to develop and enhance their unit’s
propensity to innovate. |
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| A
booth vendor making a pitch. |
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| The
Innovation Game (by MINDEF Innovation
Office. |
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Members of the audience, who were transformed
into venture capitalists, were each given
a “cheque book” with a credit
limit of $100,000 “Innovation Dollars”.
They could invest in projects that showed
great potential. At the end of the day, the
project that attracted the most investment
would receive $5,000 for prototyping and further
development.
The booth vendors lost no time once the marketplace
was opened. Each team courted the venture
capitalists with entrepreneurial finesse and
deft persuasion skills. Equally impressive
was the array of innovative prototypes and
projects on display. Clearly, this was innovation
in action.
The marketplace came to a close when the last
cheque was deposited at 12.30 pm.
While the physical structure of a marketplace
may not always be in place, an internal marketplace
fuelled by the spirit of entrepreneurship
and an open exchange of ideas is present in
MINDEF/SAF.
Now, who says military organisations can’t
be innovative? |
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Next: MAS
rides the innovation wave |
