The MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP), an initiative of MIT Sloan Global Programs, accepted six new regional teams across three continents into its 7th Cohort for 2019-2021. Based on the program’s foundational framework, each team has representations from government, risk capital, academia, corporate and the entrepreneurial community.
“MIT REAP continues to expand its international positioning to convene thoughts leaders in addressing critical issues facing entrepreneurs within their home regions. Our robust MIT REAP Global Network ensures that MIT REAP teams connect and receive regional alumni team mentorships throughout the world,” says David Capodilupo, Assistant Dean, MIT Sloan Global Programs.
Cohort 7 currently includes regional teams from:
- Abuja, Nigeria – led by Dr. Isa Ibrahim, Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency and Ahmed Bobboi, Executive Secretary/CEO of Petrolium Equalisation Fund (Management) Board (PEF(M)B)
- Denmark – led by Frederik Taarnhøj, Director – Strategy & New Business Development of FaunaPhotonics and Lars Visbech Sørensen, CEO of Agro Business Park
- Fukuoka City, Japan – led by Tetsuaki Miura, Director of Startup, National Strategic Special Zone, Planning & Coordination Department of Fukuoka City Government
- Ha’il Principality, Saudi Arabia – led by H.R.H Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Muqrin Al Saud, Deputy Governor of Ha’il Principality and Sami Al Hussaini, Vice Governor of Planning & Development of Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monshaat)
- New Taipei City, Taiwan – led by Ming-Ji Wu, Deputy Mayor of New Taipei City Government and Chieh-Yu Lin, Deputy Secretary-General of the New Taipei City Government
As part of their application, accepted teams have developed a shared vision for their regional innovation ecosystem. And during the two-year learning engagement with MIT, each team will implement at least one strategic intervention that will help ameliorate that particular area of weakness in their region’s innovation ecosystem.
Led by tenured MIT professors Scott Stern, Fiona Murray, and Bill Aulet, MIT REAP teams will be ‘drinking from the firehose’ as they learn more about MIT’s approach to entrepreneurship.
“MIT REAP is consistent with the mens et manus approach. Our previous Cohorts have taken theory from the classroom and applied it to their local, innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems with impressive results. So, I’m looking forward to working with the teams because they have some big visions for their respective regions.” says Travis Hunter, Associate Director, MIT REAP
Examples of strategic interventions from previous MIT REAP teams include the launch of Expande, a global knowledge hub for the mining industry, by Team Santiago and the establishment of Japan’s first ever universities consortium, Tokyo Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, at the Tokyo University of Sciences. All successful strategic interventions are based on detailed analysis of each region’s unique context by the team.
A unique aspect of the MIT REAP program is the overlapping Cohort model which allows incoming cohorts to learn from the more experienced teams who have begun to implement programs and policies in their region. In 2020, Cohort 7 teams will overlap with the teams from Cohort 6. The opportunities to glean insights into opportunities and challenges faced by previous teams, and learn from best practice from around the globe through the MIT REAP alumni community are invaluable.
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