Thanks Moni. The topic of innovation and entrepreneurship is extremely important, and will be critical for the continued development and competitiveness of our countries.

Gone are the days when persons can go to school, do well, and be guaranteed a job… for life! Unfortunately, our systems and policies have yet to be (fully) revised to help us address this new reality, especially for the younger population. No doubt, interesting times are ahead…

Agreed VLS.

My general observation is that to varying degrees across the region, govts have not yet fully committed to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. They are reluctant to allocate funds or develop initiatives in that area, and perhaps are hoping that private sector will take the lead there, so that they address other priorities, especially of the grassroots kind which bring votes.

Consider this example, over the last few years and across the region, we have had a number of apps competitions, some of which has been government-initiated events. There might be much fanfare surrounding the competitions and the winners, but then it fizzles to nothing.

I believe that innovation, in particular, requires a construct that demands persons to be progressive, and can be rewarded for their efforts – not necessarily with money only, but perhaps more importantly, opportunities and support for their outputs to be developed and implemented, which in turn encourages entrepreneurship.