The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) supports young entrepreneurs all over the world. In our interview at this year’s Connected Smart Cities Conference (CSCC 2019), Alexander Ntoko, Chief of Operations and Planning, told us how exactly the organisation plans to do that: with the Smart Incubator Program.
ITU is a global organisation with 193 member states and connections with over 700 major companies across the world. Its main mission is to develop global interoperable non-discriminatory standards in order to empower young entrepreneurs. Ntoko explains that interoperable standards help to replicate digital services quickly and efficiently. Non-discriminatory standards mean that access to data and technology is not only available to major tech companies, but to anybody who has the knowledge to use it. To encourage the uptake of open standards and to foster a thriving local economy by empowering young talent, ITU has created the Smart Incubator Program.
The Smart Incubator program was launched in September 2018 and its main goal is to support startups to get the technology they need, develop the business models they want and understand how to protect their intellectual property. According to Ntoko, the program works with countries all over the world but focuses on developing countries to help them address their challenges through innovative digital solutions created by local entrepreneurs. The main goal of the program is to replicate processes for startups in different countries. For now, ITU is in the process of establishing partnerships with national and regional initiatives and is planning to roll out the program globally.
Have a look at our interview series with leading Smart City and IoT experts:
- Joann O’Brien: Open APIs: Enabling A Seamless Flow of Data
- Ulrich Ahle : FIWARE: ShAPIng Smart Cities
- Filipe Araújo: Porto’s vision of a new digital world
- Christophe Colinet: Bordeaux: A Smart City Starts with an Open Mindset