Many entrepreneurs, academics and technical experts in Middeleast, Eurasia and developing countries are faced with the challenges of sustaining and maintaining their Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), due to a lack of capital, technical and management assistance and business education and training.

In light of these challenges, InnoVest Group has decided to establish Technology business incubators in Middeleast and Eurasia region to minimize the risk of failure among small technology enterprises, thereby providing an environment in which SMEs can flourish. These incubators are called International SME Incubator House.

The failure rate among start-up business is normally very high and so when they are on their own without these kinds of integrated support services, they often experience implementation problems which many are unable to address successfully and fail in the first couple of years.

Mr. David Dastvar, Managing Partner of the InnoVest Group – a technology investment and management consultant group based in Washington, DC USA - is the lead executive to establish “International SME Incubator House" operation in Middeleast and Eurasia region. Mr. Dastvar said, "The idea of a technology business incubator is to enable small start-up businesses to get the required support in their early stages. The International SME Incubator House will also support SMEs with their business growth needs. The International SME Incubator House will provide certain common services to the occupants, like access to venture fund, marketing, infrastructure, accounting, secretarial, security, and general support services. The International SME Incubator House will play Venture Capital (VC) and Angel Investor role with the SMEs in the region.

While the concept of a small business incubator is nothing new in countries such as the United States of America, in the Middeleast and Eurasia the concept is still fairly new.

The International SME Incubator House (ISI House) is not intended to be government managed. What the project envisages is that the International SME Incubator House will cooperate closely with government ministries, universities and R&D centers of excellence. Mr. Dastvar indicated that the International SME Incubator House will be university and TechnoPark based and will reflect the skills, resources, interests and aspirations of the country and region that serves. The ISI House will be demand driven, rather than supply driven.

Mr. Dastvar explains that as soon as the project is finalized, the appropriate Ministries, universities, business groups, and TechnoParks in the subject countries will be invited and consulted with regards to starting up the ISI House.

Dr. Nazemi, Managing Director of InnoVest Group explains that, "this ISI House came out of the thinking that the Universities needed to be actively addressing the issue of increasing innovation and technology in response to the economic shift from the natural resource based to more knowledge based services and goods, to be more globally competitive. It is out of this idea that the ISI House was born".

"The International SME Incubator House is a business incubator aimed at enabling the development of small to medium size enterprises and our focus is on technology related businesses. We also connect the start-up businesses to the sources of the venture capital, as this is one of the major challenges that young entrepreneurs face," she adds.

"We are happy to be a part of the process of entrepreneurial development in Middeleast and Eurasia. It truly is a golden opportunity as it is a step in the right direction," she said.

InnoVest Group will be cooperating with organizations such as local universities, national academy of sciences, Azerbaijan National Science Foundation (ANSF) and The U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF).

For more information please contact David Dastvar, he is the Managing partner of InnoVest Group, which provides strategy advisory, evaluation, investments and management consulting on regulatory, policy, infrastructural, E-government and Technopark projects to private sector, governments and multilateral organizations. Mr. Dastvar is also a member of national advisory board for George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer and Commercialization (CET2C). He is also member of MAVA, ABA, CORNET, IREM, NAIOP, CAI, PMA, IFMA, NVAR and AOBA associations. Mr. Dastvar is based in Virginia, USA, Telephone: 1+703-250-0399, Mobile: 1+202-497-8848 or email: hd-innovest@cox.net.