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Canadian Nexterra receives $7.7M funding

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Nexterra Systems Corp, a Vancouver-based supplier of advanced biomass gasification systems received $7.7m in funding from the BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN), Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), and Ethanol BC.
Proceeds will be used to support Nexterra’s program to commercialize a new high efficiency biomass power system in collaboration with GE Jenbacher and GE Energy. Pilot testing of the new system will begin before the end of 2009 and a first commercial demonstration project is expected to begin in early 2010.
Jonathan Rhone, President and CEO of Nexterra was quoted as saying: “We are very grateful to these organizations for their continued commitment to Nexterra and for clean technology innovation in B.C. and across Canada.
“Building a strong domestic clean energy industry is critically important to position our economy for recovery and to capitalize on rapidly growing clean energy markets worldwide. We look forward for continued collaboration with our funding partners to ensure Nexterra’s energy solutions meet the highest standards for biomass heat and power applications”.
FinSMEs
31/08/2009

France, AXA Private Equity takes an equity stake in Aviccia

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AXA Private Equity, a private equity house with $26bn of assets under management and international reach across Europe, North America and Asia, is acquiring an equity interest in Aviccia, a french company specialised in solar energy.
Champagne, Troyes-based Aviccia (formerly Avenir Soleil), which was founded in March 2008, designs and installs turn-key solar panels on large roofs for customers backed by its combined expertise in construction and photovoltaic facilities. It is also developing a business producing renewable energies based on rented roofs, equipped and operated on its own account.
Gilles Denis, Aviccia’s founding shareholder, was quoted as saying: “I was attracted to AXA Private Equity’s realistic approach to support us in our strategy to add value while upholding social and environmental principles”.
Alexis Saada, Senior Investment Manager with AXA Private Equity, said: “The high grade management and staff and their past achievements convinced us to invest in this business based on clean energy and meeting sustainable development principles”.
FinSMEs
31/08/2009

UNIDO launches projects worth US$9m, benefiting industry in India

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The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is launching new industrial projects totaling US $9m to benefit industry in India.
A US $5.9m cluster development programme for India will focus on technology, management, skill development, and the environment. It will be implemented by 2014 at sites in Pithampura, Chennai, Pune, Ankhleswar, Kanpur, and New Delhi, matching the specific needs of each industrial location.
In particular, the programme will offer key solutions to each of the clusters to help them address technology, quality or environmental constraints, encompassing a comprehensive package of services – ranging from energy efficiency and water conservation to cleaner production and lean manufacturing.
A separate project worth US $3m will deal with upgrading India’s machine tool industry, considered the backbone of the country’s engineering sector but still underdeveloped.
The machine tool industry project will be implemented in coordination with the UNIDO Regional Office in New Delhi and within the framework of a programme of cooperation between India and UNIDO for 2008-2012.
FinSMEs
31/08/2009

UK, PremierEnvoy join One Central Park in Manchester

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One Central Park (OCP) has a new tenant in its North East Manchester facility. PremierEnvoy Ltd, a software provider offering management solutions for payroll, expenses and human capital management, has taken 1,520 sq ft of office space, which will house the company’s Head Office.
According to Andrew Jones, Head of Sales and Marketing at PremierEnvoy, which also has bases in Sheffield and London, the decision to move its Manchester site to One Central Park depends on the company’s expansion strategy.
“PremierEnvoy work largely in the public sector with our clients including large County Councils as well as small Borough Councils.
 “The company has grown quickly in recent years and, as we have developed, we have found we needed more space and more flexibility, two areas the move to One Central Park has provided”.
OCP, a 100,000 sq ft facility, brings together students, technologists and entrepreneurs encouraging innovation at all levels of business development, from training through to business creation, incubation and acceleration.
OCP is a partnership between the Universities of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and Salford together with Manchester Science Parks (msp) and the Manchester College.
FinSMEs
31/08/2009

UK, Support for SMEs to cut Energy Costs

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The Carbon Trust will launch a new programme – The Big Business Refit – in order to help thousands of small and medium sized businesses drive down their energy costs, a statement reveals.

The Big Business Refit will offer SMEs expert advice and financial support to cut energy costs by scrapping old inefficient equipment and replacing it with new energy efficient models.

With a total of £100m in loans available, the Big Business Refit is expected to help up to 3,000 UK SMEs save a total of £40m.

Due to a recession-driven surge in demand for the Carbon Trust’s interest-free business loans, in the first six months of 2009, hundreds of SMEs have been given support to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology.

According to Carbon Trust, as result, SMEs are saving an average of £14,000 each on their annual energy bills – a total of almost £6m a year.
In the statement, Tom Delay, Carbon Trust’s chief executive, was reported as saying: “Business owners are realising that for every month they ‘make do and mend’ with old inefficient equipment, they are wasting more cash on unnecessarily high energy bills.
“With credit all but dried up elsewhere, the Big Business Refit breaks the deadlock by helping SMEs to buy the equipment that will both slash their costs and often transform their businesses”.
FinSMEs
31/08/2009

Britain’s recovery set to start from a very weak position, says Chief Economist at BCC

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Commenting on the revised GDP figures for the second quarter, published last Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which stated that the economy contracted by 0.7% in the period – less than the original estimate of a 0.8% decline, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“After this week’s poor business investment figures, the GDP revision comes as a slight relief. Fears that GDP would be revised downward have proved too pessimistic. However, the small improvement cannot obscure the severity of the UK recession and the challenges facing us.
“The new figures are consistent with the expectation that GDP will increase slightly in the second half of the year. But, the productive sector of the economy is still very weak and the government must manage the task of repairing our public finances without damaging wealth-creating businesses”.

According to ONS, output of the production industries fell by 0.6 % compared with a fall of 5.1 % in the previous quarter, with output of manufacturing industries falling by 0.2 % compared with a fall of 5.5 % in the previous quarter.

FinSMEs
31/08/2009

USA, Grants to improve access to 2 Industrial Parks

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Grants from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) were delivered to create additional jobs and private investment in two regions of the USA.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced a $2m grant to the cities of Centralia and Wamac, Ill., to make roadway updates to improve access to Centralia Industrial Park #1 and a $700,000 grant to Greater Jobs, Inc., and the city of Albert Lea, Minn., to build an access road to serve the I35-I90 industrial park.
The projects were made possible because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009 in order to provide immediate relief for American families and to create jobs, improve infrastructure and strengthen local economies.
FinSMEs
30/08/2009

USA, iWalk receives a $20m Series B Round Financing

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Cambridge, Mass.-based company iWalk received $20m of a $21m Series B round funding to develop a self-contained robotic prosthetic ankle.
According to official sources, the funding comes from Cambridge, Mass.-based General Catalyst Partners and New York-based WFD Ventures LLC.
This round adds to a $3.7m Series A financing, bringing the company’s total funding over $23.7m.
The company was founded in 2006 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab professor Hugh Herr.
FinSMEs
29/08/2009

Milan, Venture Training Contest for Space Startups

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The Milan Chamber of Commerce Innovation Agency, Innovhub,  is organising a Space Venture Training Contest, an initiative having the target to identify, select and prepare 12 of the most promising startups (or potential ventures) connected to the space and aerospace sector.
During the Contest, in cooperation with the Italian Council for social sciences (CSS) and E-Synergy Limited, an Investment Readiness Programme will allow new ventures to fully understand:
– how risk capital managers assess investments,
– how to present their business to investors;
– how to use funds raised.
Besides, an Investor Event will allow new entrepreneurs to meet investors through One2One meeting and an elevator pitch session.
The event will take place in Milan, Palazzo dei Giureconsulti, from the 23rd to the 25th of November 2009.
New ventures will be identified through a scouting action.
The deadline to submit a proposal is October 15th 2009.
For further information, visit the Innovhub’s website: http://www.mi.euroinfocentre.it/
FinSMEs
29/08/2009

Berkeley, free event about Start Up

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A free event about startups will take place on October 24th at the Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley.

The event, which is sponsored by Berkeley CSUA, St@b, BASES and Y Combinator, is aimed at people who are thinking about starting up a business or businessmen who already started it.

During the day, experts such as Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and GMail’s creator Paul Buchheit will speak about startups from their own experience.

The Application Deadline is October 1st and the acceptance notice will be issued by October 8th.

For further information, visit the event’s website: http://startupschool.org/index.html

FinSMEs

28/08/2009

USA, New Contest for Inspiring Small Businesses Launched

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American Express, in partnership with NBC Universal, has launched Shine a Light, a contest to recognize inspiring small businesses throughout the country.
The contest gives everybody the chance to submit a story about a business adopting an innovative approach to survive in tough times, having a customer-first mentality and giving back to the community, even when, as stated in the website’s contest, “staying afloat is a challenge”.
Three Finalists will be selected by judges and one winner will be selected from the three finalists through user voting.
The contest’s prizes are the following: 
– a $10,000 grant for the businesses featured in the three finalists;
– a $50,000 grant and $50,000 worth of marketing support for the business featured in one winner, chosen from among the three finalists;
– an American Express Gift Card valued at $3,000 for the submitters of the three finalists
The deadline for submission is September 13th 2009.

FinSMEs

28/08/2009

USA, Menlo Ventures leads $5m investment in MOG

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MOG, the Web’s music blogging network, closed a $5m equity financing round lead by Menlo Ventures.Long-time investors Simon Equity Partners and Scott Jones have also invested in this round bringing the total amount MOG has raised in funding to date to $12.5m.
MOG, founded in June 2005 and headquartered in Berkeley, CA receives over 8 million unique visitors per month and generates over 6,000 music blog posts per week.
David Hyman, MOG founder and CEO, was reported as saying: “With a partner like Menlo Ventures, MOG is in a terrific position to make a colossal impact in the online music space. We have plans to be a leader in not just editorial music content but in music listening as well”.
FinSMEs
28/08/2009

USA, Balihoo secures a $7m financing

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Balihoo, the Boise-based provider of local marketing automation technology and services to franchises and national brands with local marketing needs, secured a $7 million financing.
The operation was led by OpenView Venture Partners, which joins existing Balihoo investors Highway 12 Ventures and Lacuna Gap Capital, who together supplied the company’s initial capital and also contributed to the this funding.
The investment will enable the company to expand sales and marketing efforts to build its roster of national clients.
FinSMES
28/08/2009

USA, OneRiot secures a $7m financing

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OneRiot, the realtime search engine, secured a $7m Series C financing led by Appian Ventures, Commonwealth Capital Ventures and Spark Capital.
The company, headquartered in Boulder, Colo, with offices in San Francisco, will use proceeds to further enhance its core search product and to support its fast-growing partner network.
Kimbal Musk, OneRiot’s CEO, was reported as saying: “This commitment from our existing investors is a big vote of confidence in the realtime search market, OneRiot’s product offering, and our team’s ability to execute”.
The company was launched in November 2008. and partners include Yahoo and Microsoft, who recently released a version of Internet Explorer bundled with OneRiot realtime search.
FinSMEs
28/08/2009

India will double the flow of credit to MSMEs in five years, PM says

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Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, said the government needs to do more to realize the full development potential of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Attending the National Awards to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in New Delhi, Mr Singh guaranteed the Government’s commitment to double the flow of credit to MSMEs in five years.
According to the Prime Minister, “Greater availability of credit can contribute to the faster modernization and expansion of these enterprises and the augmentation of their productivity and competitiveness.
“I would urge MSMEs to also explore new and emerging sources of finance such as venture capital and private equity”, he said.
The effort of the government is even to enable entrepreneurs to get one-stop access to facilities for capacity building and skill development, credit, marketing support and quality technology. To this end, 2000 clusters have been identified across the country and specific interventions are being carried out in 500 of them to start with.
FinSMEs
28/08/2009
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