Asian Countries Form New Business Incubation Association

May 22, 2001

Contact:
Linda Knopp, PR Specialist
(740) 593-4154 lknopp@nbia.org

ATHENS, Ohio—Five nations have joined forces to create the Asian Association of Business Incubation (AABI) to promote the exchange of information and experiences among business incubators in the region.

Representatives from the People's Republic of China, India, Taiwan, Korea and Japan signed an agreement this week to form the new association. The agreement resulted from discussions among the countries during an International Summit at the National Business Incubation Association's (NBIA's) 15th International Conference on Business Incubation in San Jose, Calif., last week.

"What is truly unique about this situation is that the AABI was actually incubated at our annual conference on business incubation," Dinah Adkins, president and chief executive officer of NBIA, said. "The conference provided a user-friendly environment for business incubation executives to communicate."

During the next year, the founding group will work to expand membership and develop a written plan of activities for the association. The AABI will be formally inaugurated at the 16th International Conference on Business Incubation in Toronto, Canada, April 27-May 1, 2002.

"By forming the AABI, we hope to create an incubator network in Asia," said Shuji Kato, secretary general of the Japan Association of New Business Incubation Organizations (JANBO) and an AABI founding member. "We hope to double our membership in the association before the Toronto conference."

Other Asian representatives signing the agreement were Li Yihong, vice director of the Shanghai International Business Incubator; Rustam Lalkaka, president of Business & Technology Development Strategies (representing India); Dr. Benjamin Yuan, president of the Chinese Business Incubation Association, and Dr. Hong Kim, president of the Korean Business Incubation Association.

Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. The programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies, create jobs and build wealth.

Headquartered in Athens, Ohio, NBIA is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. It provides thousands of professionals with the information, education, advocacy and networking resources to assist early-stage companies.