Nelson Gray delivered a seminar to members of the Multilateral Investment Fund team at the Inter America Development Bank, Washington, USA on 22 Febuary 2010.

The seminar set out lessons learned in Europe, and Especially Scotland on how to develop and grow local early stage investment communities in developing countries. Local investment communities are essential to support growth in knowledge based industries, and in attracting larger venture fund investors from overseas to support latter stage growth.

The Inter-American Development Bank is an international organization established and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1959 to support Latin American and Caribbean economic and social development and regional integration by lending mainly to governments and government agencies, including State corporations. The IDB is the largest multilateral source of financing for the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Nelson Gray delivered the final talk at the SU2P Photonics conference held at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, on 23 March, under the title “If You Build It, Will They Fund It?” The Universities of Strathclyde, St Andrews, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow, together with Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), are collaborating in a the SU2P project  designed to capitalise on leading research in the photonics sector, in fields including life sciences and renewable energy, and the commercial opportunities the research offers.
It also aims to bolster existing links between universities and businesses in Scotland and the US. 
 The three-year venture between the six institutions will focus on: §                                         Biophotonics, including stem cell imaging and neuroscience photonics§                                         Solar cell devices and characterisation§                                         Integrated photonics§                                         Solid-state laser engineering and nonlinear optics§                                         Photonics sensors, including atom and quantum optic sensors and environmental science and technology

Nelson Gray delivered a talk in Tallinn on behalf of Connect Estonia on 17 March setting out the importance of developing a sound business model, and adjusting it to reflect changes in the actions of your customers and new opportunities.

Ø      How do business models evolve

Ø      Developing business models that are attractive to investors

Ø      Case study examples of how adjusting business models has resulted in exeptional success.