Businesses lack innovation

LAHORE: Businesses in Pakistan pay no attention to innovation and development of new ideas is not the priority of even established companies in the country, an entrepreneur Almas Hyder said.
“These companies need to remain ahead of the start-ups for a longer survival,” Hyder said.
“Experts have predicted that 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies will be startups by 2020.”
The real game changers are mostly small innovators and therefore, many companies in developed economies are taking steps to encourage innovation.
They devise strategies to attain maximum growth of core business, but target at least 30 percent growth through new innovative products.
Hyder said basically the established companies are constantly under threat from technology-driven upstarts. Companies that show reluctance in changing their core business and reinvent only at the time of a threat from a competitor can be wiped out, he added.
He said the bureaucratic hurdles are the poison for innovation. Slow approvals delay innovation and give an edge to startups that are always experimenting new ideas, he added.
“It has been observed that companies where frequent approvals are not required flourish.”
Life span of innovative products is shrinking every passing day as better innovators replace them (may be from the same company).
Innovations require external collaborators.
A practical collaboration with outside partners should not be limited to an exchange of new ideas.
The partnership can be for cost sharing.
Established companies must encourage innovation in their organisational culture through a well-planned strategy instead of optimising profit.
Entrepreneur Nabeel Hashmi agreed that innovation ensures long-term success of an enterprise. Innovation should aim to meet financial growth objectives of the company.
“Innovation requires actionable insights. Projects that excite customers and have the potential to create new markets should be preferred,” Hashmi said.
“Technology cost, acceptability in the market and return on the profit of innovation should be taken into account.”