Comment & Analysis
British technology and engineering companies are looking to Asia for inspiration says David Bott, director of innovation programmes at TSB.
A land of opportunity? India, like China, is a country in flux – politically, economically, socially. Though growth there may have slowed somewhat markets are less moribund than in the over-mortgaged West. As Europe struggles, British technology and engineering companies are looking to Asia for inspiration.
So it is this month that a number of smaller technology companies will venture to Bangalore and New Delhi as part of a Technology Strategy Board and UKTI-backed trade mission. David Bott, director of innovation programmes, TSB, says: “This is really a good way to get companies from the UK to access markets overseas. Going abroad and selling can be kind of scary when you've never done it before and are on your own.
“Going out as one of 20 companies has more of a feel of 'The Brits are coming!' They work together as a team, like a Roman phalanx. And they get the chance to prep properly before they go.”
The mission is part of a TSB strategy to encourage British firms to take their products to promising markets. The common cultural ties with India make doing business “slightly less daunting” than doing business in China, says Bott.
One of the companies on the mission will be London-based BuffaloGrid, which has developed a portable solar-powered device that can be used to recharge mobile phones or for lighting. Daniel Becerra, partner, says: “There are 300 million off-grid mobile phones just in India. That's the biggest market. We're really looking forward to going there, having established some operations in Uganda already.”
Becerra says there is potential for BuffaloGrid's product to be massively scaled up. “We believe we can reach rural areas where infrastructure hasn't reached for decades and won't in ten years even. So we believe our technology has massive potential.”
Mobile telephony has a very different function in the developing world compared to the West. Phones are used to pay for essential goods such as groceries and other items because many people do not have bank accounts. Technologies such as mobile money allow people to make transactions and carry out many other applications, such as ones for locating clean drinking water. Business activities and services are also carried out via the phone. “The impact of the mobile phone in the developing world can be compared to the impact the Internet has had for us,” Becerra says. “It is the equivalent of a computer for people who sadly cannot afford computers yet.”
The internet is likely to penetrate mobile telephony in India before electricity reaches rural areas. So innovative British firms seeking a market could have much to offer when the mission kicks off later this month.