About this event
Times of crisis are times of innovation – and collaboration. Especially during the COVID 19-pandemic, more and more companies focused on integrating external partners in their innovation processes. An example for this development is the strong cooperation between the American automotive manufacturer Ford and GE Healthcare, a supplier of medical technology.
Just like Ford and GE Healthcare, a growing number of internationally successful corporations combine company-internal expertise and resources with external know-how from clients, businesses, research institutions or non-profit organizations in the form of “Open Innovation”. The main motivation for establishing these Open Innovation processes is to improve competitiveness through the early adaption to changing customer needs and shorter R&D-phases as well as to scout for new applications for innovative products. The cooperation with startups and businesses from other industries and even competitors is an attractive playing ground for developing disruptive ideas and innovations. In addition, Open Innovation can promote creative thinking and help in establishing market-based solutions for complex challenges. The process of Open Innovation also has considerable potential to being a lever for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in low-income countries: new alliances e.g. between the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the pharmaceutical company Merck and the Nigerian health-logistics startup Lifebank –which delivers vital medical supplies in Africa –combine market expansion with SDG impact.
The corporAID Multilogue shows how businesses can utilize Open Innovation to generate competitive advantages and simultaneously contribute to achieving the SDGs. During the multilogue, examples of international Good Practices will be discussed, while reflecting strategies on how businesses can adapt their innovative ideas to the needs in low-income
Blanca Guitard, Innovation Manager at Airbus Defence & Space
Tendai Pasipanodya, Director at endeva
Hans Stoisser, Founder of NextAfrica
Maria Tagwerker-Sturm, Retail Innovation Manager at Umdasch Group Ventures
Werner Wutscher, Founder of New Venture Scouting
Time & Date
Wednesday, 24th November, 17:00 - 19:00 p.m.
