The Foundation of MSME Clusters, a New Delhi based NGO specializing in cluster development which is implementing the Promoting Innovative Clusters (PICs) for life sciences industry with support of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is creating mentors' groups in various pharma hubs in Gujarat to identify and support potential innovators showing them the right roadmap for success.

The foundation, which has been working actively for the past three years to develop an ecosystem that promotes the life sciences, largely the pharmaceuticals, medical devices and ISM clusters along with strengthening the existing stakeholders in the cluster, is creating mentors' group in five regions--- Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Baroda, Vapi and Ankaleswar by including experts in various life science segments, for the purpose. The group for Ahmedabad has already came into existence, according to sources from the foundation.

The mentors' group will identify the potential innovators and start up firms to take their discovery further to commercialisation by giving roadmap including technical expertise and linkages. The foundation is also planning to create a website for the mentors' group to facilitate online connectivity to the innovators with the experts.

Further, the foundation is also creating a list of start up life science firms in the state and a list of students in related segments passing out from colleges in the state to maintain a database of innovation projects in Gujarat. This year, the foundation is targeting to identify almost 30 to 40 innovators in the life science sector to provide required support for their growth.

The project is expected to support SMEs in linking to stakeholders within and outside the cluster to promote innovation culture amongst them. Support for a few innovative proposals for SMEs in the cluster and the start-ups with an objective to understand the challenges that SME firms or start-ups come across while working on potentially new areas, according to Dr Kamal Sarkar, project director, Foundation of MSME Clusters, Gujarat.

For instance, the foundation has extended partial financial support of around Rs 8 lakh to a start-up company Axio Biosolutions for development of its product Axio-Clot, a biomaterial medical device for advance wound care. The project has been linked to Techno Entrepreneur Promoting Programme (TePP) of DST and the company has recently received funding from the Gujarat Venture Funds Ltd.

The cluster project, mooted by the DST and implemented in two pharma hubs – Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh – is aimed to help the SMEs in accessing early capital and start up, since there are limited schemes from government agencies or venture funds to meet this requirement, considering the risks involved.

The foundation is also planning to create innovative clubs, on the lines of the other students clubs in pharmacy colleges in Gujarat to boost innovation activities right from the academic level, said K M Balajee, project coordinator, Foundation of MSME Clusters. The idea is to form clubs in colleges and to conduct inter-college competitions on innovation to develop and promote new ideas and projects in the life sciences sector.

Another area where the PIC project would focus is in the medical devices segment for development of skilled manpower for the growing industry. The foundation will create eight groups with representation from students, technical experts, faculties from institutes and experts from the industry to develop effective prototypes in the segment.

The scope of action includes learning and collecting feedback from stakeholders followed by implementation of activities that promote the system and undertaking initiatives in cross-cutting areas to develop an ecosystem that is conducive for promoting innovation, through awareness workshops and seminars in the area of intellectual property rights, mentoring and writing project proposals, they added.