Business Technology Meeting

D-8 TTEN Secretariat proposed the meeting of business sector as a platform for conforming technology transactions among Member States’ companies (a business forum) to fulfill its significant goal of technology transfer. In the exact word, BTM is focused on demanding technologies to be presented by companies owning capabilities to businesses, industries and briefly needers through the events organized frequently.

Business-Technology Meetings are opportunities for companies to present their capabilities and requirements to each other besides B2B sessions that deepen future cooperation. BTMs are implemented in various field of S&T and selection of each field is advised by each country according to their latest demands. The 1st round of Business-Technology Meeting was held in Dhaka in the field of biotechnology participated by companies producing generic and biosimilar products.

The following process (containing one or more steps for each) is outlined to be performed to reach productive business-technology meetings:

• A comprehensive research and study;
• Deciding on a novel approach for the event;
• Informing and identifying the technology owners and applicants in member countries;
• Scheduling the meetings in the host country;
• Coordinating the executive affairs for the meetings.

Studies to detect offers and requests

The initial activity of a business-technology meeting targeting a transaction in between is to identify the needs in the target market and the necessary areas of the appearance of the technologists. There is a binary viewpoint for the activities of organizers to fulfill the general proceedings. One is to aim a specific target market (industry, tech market, etc.) in which requirements reveal for the organizers to subsequently invite the companies from all the fields of S&T capable of providing technologies, products, services and etc. for that specific industry (e. g. Oil and Gas industry vs. several technology fields). The other way is to target one field of technology for which all the related industries in the host country can be an audience (i.e. ICT vs. several industries such as telecom, banking, etc.). Figure 1 depicts this classification.

Approach Decision

Once the research is accomplished, one of the aforesaid viewpoints are decided and subsequently, the organizers will invite the technology owners to participate in the D-8 TTEN event and set up Business Meetings.

Technology owners in member countries

The accomplished study and decision making on the approach precede the beginning of informing and identifying private technology companies in member countries. On the other hand, depending on the approach clarified by the organizers, needs and requests are identified in the host country. The needs and requests derive from industries, companies and other related entities.

Duties and Tasks

D-8 TTEN Secretariat will plan the following items to be performed regarding the Technology-Business Meetings:

• Doing a comprehensive study to decide on the approach of performing the Business Meetings;
• Identifying and informing Companies to be invited;
• Providing accommodation for companies from each country;
• Scheduling the meetings of countries’ companies with their counterparts in the host country;
• Providing all the transportation for the companies.

Authorities of the host country will take the responsibility of the followings for the event:

• Providing accommodation and transportation of the attendees from the governmental sectors of the member countries;
• Providing venue for the meetings of event;
• Coordinating visits to technology entities in the host country for the guests as the technology tour section of the event (for states’ focal points).

The 1st Technology-Business Meeting in Dhaka

Considering the steps generated for the Meeting, officials in D-8 TTEN Secretariat and Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) recognized for the 1st round of Meeting to be in the field of biopharmaceutical focusing on Biosimilar attended by companies owning technologies and the ones in need of technologies and products.

After the Opening Ceremony, invited biopharma companies from I. R. Iran and Bangladesh gathered around a table to present their belongings to each other. B2B sessions were allocated to each company according to the B2B Meeting Request already applied to the leaders of session. Finally, twenty B2B sessions were conformed and fields of cooperation were discussed.