Innovation, an ambassador of progress? Ad Valoris interviews Monica Malcarne, FONGIT Vice President

Charismatic vice president and secretary general of the Geneva Foundation for Technological Innovation (FONGIT), as well as Labcorp Switzerland, Monica Malcarne enlightens us on a field of digital innovation that is increasingly impacting the social, economic, and political models of the planet.

Is innovation the preserve of start-ups?

By definition, innovations come less from well-established companies than from start-ups, voluntarily founded on disruptive schemes. SMEs transform more often in the wake of market revolutions and are paradoxically an important source of funding for start-ups.

In the neoliberal logic characterising the economic world, when there is innovation, is there progress?

Dogmatising or stigmatising progress seems to me to be nonsensical; the issue effectively concerns the means of inscribing innovation in the common good. In Switzerland, legislation, but also awareness, is increasingly sensitive to environmental and social responsibility issues. At the very least, we construct and manufacture today within a normative framework integrating the protection of individuals and the population, as well as the preservation of nature and a certain ethic of consumption.

Artificial intelligence, which is already imposing itself on humanity as mechanisation and automation did on industry, will transform many professions and evolve business models in the short term. Swiss companies are already aware of this, and FONGIT is there to accompany them in their reflection on the future.

What happens to ancient knowledge?

I studied ancient literature, and the past helps me explain the present. It is important to know where we come from to understand where we are going.

When you are an SMB, do you have a chance to make an innovation prosper in a world dominated by ever more powerful international leaders?

Students sometimes become the masters. We see this in the automotive industry, where artisanal brands manage to position themselves in the electric mobility market. The quest for profit is probably not the trigger for great concepts. What motivates creators is the hypothesis of simplification and better accessibility for the benefit of consumers. But the complexity of financing, manufacturing, and commercialisation constitutes prohibitive obstacles at the individual level, which justify and sometimes make rapprochements inevitable.

Are there conditions to be met to lead an innovation?

Whether in the context of an established company or a start-up, I believe that visionary projects need three qualities to prosper: a good idea, a good leader, and the right timing. It is said that history proves wrong those who precede it; timing will always remain the main part of the mystery in the success of an innovation.

I believe that concepts must first integrate the environmental and societal dimension to meet the requirements of current generations of consumer-citizens.

What is the role of FONGIT?

The Geneva Foundation for Technological Innovation – FONGIT, is the first Swiss incubator that supports innovative technological companies in Geneva. Our mission is to transform technology into social and economic value in the Geneva region. We support more than 130 innovative technological companies and projects at an early stage, providing fully equipped offices and laboratories, administration and accounting, commercial coaching, and access to financing. We help them move from idea to commercial value.

In your eyes, what is the most beautiful expression of progress?

Undoubtedly the power to heal the world’s ills, more than to subjugate them.

“Visionary projects need three qualities to prosper: a good idea, a good leader, and the right timing.”

Monica Malcarne