Cleveland-based
Nine Sigma is nurturing business growth in Italy.
The company announced recently that Finpiemonte SpA, an Italian public holding company that supports economic development and competitiveness in the Piedmont region, chose it for a three-year project to establish an open innovation program.
Nine Sigma, which also has offices in Belgium and Japan, is a 10-year-old company that specializes in helping Global 1000 companies -- "and other innovation-driven entities" look far outside their geographical and industrial boxes to adopt changes that can facilitate their success.
Earlier this year it announced a project to provide open innovation capabilities to Middle East and North Africa organizations. That project is being done in partnership with
Innovation 360 Institute, an innovation training consultancy.
"The public and private sectors in the Middle East are hungry for new tools and capabilities that will enable them to fully leverage the global research and innovation community," Kamal Hassan, president and CEO of Innovation 360, says in a news release. "NineSigma's innovation search methodology, intelligence offerings and extensive network of experienced innovators, combined with Innovation 360's systematic innovation model, will help organizations in the Middle East find new technologies and innovative ideas."
Nine Sigma President Matthew Heim says open innovation already has been applied in many industries that are key to economic growth in the Middle East, such as oil and gas, clean and renewable energy, government services and health care. "Open innovation networks are an affordable and effective way to bolster internal R&D efforts."
Among the company's domestic clients: AkzoNobel, the Cleveland-based coatings and specialty chemicals corporation.
Source: Nine SigmaWriter: Gabriella Jacobs