[Photo Sparks] How startups, corporates and maker spaces hold the key to co-creation

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this photo essay, we showcase the poster panels and maker activity at the Wave Innovation exhibition and conference in Mumbai.

In the earlier 75 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

A new wave of innovation (‘innowave’) is sweeping across the world, with co-creation as the focus of startups, corporates and maker spaces (see also my framework of '15 innovation tips: how large corporations engage with startups'). Five mega-trends are transforming societies worldwide: the sharing economy, circular economy, maker movement, co-creation and inclusive business. An exhibition on these themes called Wave, with showcases from around the world, was produced by BNP Paribas and curated by innovation expert Navi Radjou, co-author of the bestseller ‘Frugal Innovation’ (see my book review).

At the India leg of the roadshow in Mumbai, panels on topics such as grassroots innovation, reinventing manufacturing, rural entrepreneurs, smart cities and the maker movement were held across a packed week. As programme partner, YourStory organised two panels on Women Entrepreneurs and Hardware Innovators (more on that in the next article).

In this photo showcase from Wave, we highlight some of the innovators from India and other countries who are exemplifying this new spirit of collective ingenuity: Los Grobo (agri-foods producer running only on rented equipment), I Paid a Bribe (crowdsourced citizen monitoring of corruption), Bla Bla Car (inter-city cab sharing), M-Pesa (the mobile money ‘Swiss Army knife’ of Africa), Narayana Hrudayalaya (affordable heart operations), Vauban (alternative energy neighbourhoods), Khan Academy Lite (offline e-learning), Makers Asylum (Mumbai maker space and community) and even open source medicine (where pioneering activist Salvatore Iacones hacked into his medical records and crowdsourced a cure for his cancer!).

So what type of ‘innowaver’ are you: a creator, collaborator or maker?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.