The three-day Bhutan Innovation Forum (BIF) at Pangbisa, Paro, which ended on October 3, 2024, saw a series of discussions revolving around the crucial themes that are currently debated across the globe. An important subject that reverberated across several deliberations was innovation, which was highlighted during the discussions on “Investments in Innovation and New Ventures,” with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), Ujjwal Deep Dahal, speaking about establishing innovation as the fourth pillar of Bhutan’s economy. Meanwhile, Alex Fishman, Founder, Empros Capital, LLT said Bhutan has everything that is required for an innovation economy.
Dahal mentioned that agriculture, hydropower and tourism have traditionally been the three pillars of Bhutanese economy. He said that as the investment arm of the government, DHI’s agenda, related to investment is to bring innovation as one of the pillars of Bhutanese economy. DHI’s CEO spoke about the “journeys of various countries, from Silicon Valley to what Singapore is doing and what Serbia has done.” “It is a very interesting case study about Serbia; how Serbia has used innovation to build the economy. It is an amazing story. So we are also in that journey as an investment arm, though we call it a softer investment, because we need to invest in mindset, we need to invest in education, we need to invest in talent,” he reiterated.
Dahal also underlined that DHI is speaking to the government, the industry, private sector, entrepreneurs and the academia. “We need these four parts of the quadruple helix to work together, and that’s something that we have been trying to do; propagate, talk to the government, industry, startups, and academia, so that the industries we build with innovation, with the knowledge in the research and development that’s available” can “eventually be taken as a product and service of value globally.” “And that should be the next pillar of the economy for us as we work on the other pillars of economy for Bhutan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Alex Fishman, Founder, Empros Capital, LLT, speaking after Dahal, underlined that Bhutan’s has everything for an innovation hub. “I think all the ingredients needed to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem and a hub for innovation in Bhutan is here. I think one of the main lessons of Silicon Valley is that it’s the constraints that drive the innovation,” he said.
He added that one of the things that give him confidence that an entrepreneurial ecosystem can be built in Bhutan and that innovation can be successfully brought into the Bhutanese economy “is that there is almost no infrastructure required.” “The infrastructure that is required largely is already here, reliable energy, access to internet, and as you know, with satellite internet, it’s extremely inexpensive,” Fishman said.
On how Bhutan should move ahead, Fishman remarked that bringing the best people in the world to Bhutan is another obvious strategy for bringing innovation to Bhutan. “And of all of the top engineers and entrepreneurs that I’ve met, I know with complete certainty that they would love to come to visit and spend time here in Bhutan, not only seeing the sites, but also spending time working, writing code and building their businesses and the opportunity for their experience to rub off on the local population.” “I just don’t think it should be underestimated. And I think the government should look to these people as co-investors to launch, to co-invest alongside of them in, in all, in all kinds of new ventures,” he said.
“I think there have already been a number of successful innovators that have come out of Bhutan. I’ve met several of them on this trip who have started enormous companies,” he added. On constrains like lack of population and others in Bhutan relative to that in Silicon Valley, he said “these things may counter intuitively, be a huge asset to entrepreneurs in Bhutan.” “And you know, if you listen to Evan this morning, it was the constraints, the constraints and the lack of resources that really drove Snapchat to come up with what they did.”
On what Bhutanese entrepreneurs really need to prepare as Bhutan builds an innovation economy, Fishman underscored that it is “high standards.” “I think it’s just having really high standards, really, really high standards.”
Fatine Layt, President, European Capital Coverage, LionTree, emphasized the need for Bhutan to define the type and sector of innovation Bhutan should pursue. She said that Bhutan should position itself as an exclusive luxury destination focused on mindfulness, and create a “platinum economy” centered around longevity, health, mindfulness, neuroscience, and high-level tech research. She highlighted the need for a strong, consistent narrative and branding to attract investors and differentiate Bhutan from other markets like Disneyland or Dubai.
Earlier to the above speakers, Evan Spiegel, Co-Founder & CEO, Snapchat, had spoken about the same theme, though in a different context. Spiegel said that when Snapchat was started, “there were already other really, really big apps, like Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and other services.” He informed that Snapchat had to “compete and build a product that people would want to use.” “We had to innovate, we had to think differently and build things differently for us at Snap.”
Spiegel added that “everybody is born creative.” “We are all inherently deeply creative. And if we can nurture that creativity and give people the room to experiment, explore to create art and to express themselves in all sorts of ways, that creativity can really flourish. But I think a lot of times, what happens in our society today is people come up with creative ideas or wacky ideas, and then they’re told no, or they start to feel afraid that if they try to create something new, that people won’t like it and that creativity becomes stifled by fear.”
The innovation economy asserts that knowledge, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, and collaboration are the primary drivers of economic growth. Companies can enhance their value by generating new ideas that can be transformed into products, services, and business models. This economy relies on individuals’ creative capacity to develop and implement new ideas, products, and services, rather than being tied to the physical characteristics of any specific product.
By Dechen Tshomo, Thimphu
