Today Europe counts approximately 13 million blind and visual impaired people (worldwide there are more than 40 million) who rely on ‘old fashioned’ aids e.g. the white cane and guide dogs. The traditional solutions do not offer navigation outside the memory constrained zone. This enforces the social and economic isolation of this fast growing population of which the majority is over 50 years of age.

Developing high tech solutions for a group of people with both limited financial means and also working with a user volume considerably lower than the requirements of high volume electronics manufacturers is not an easy market choice, it needed a particular approach. In 2004 the I-Cane foundation was initiated. Through this foundation funds were raised from charities and the public sector (province of Limburg NL and the EU ERDF fund) to execute a feasibility study and to deliver the proof of principle demonstration. In 2008 I-Cane succeeded in navigating a blind person on an unfamiliar route without hitting obstacles. In this demonstration the I-Cane invented tactile men-machine interface also demonstrated its value since the test person was still able to listen to the environment parallel to receiving instructions via his fingers, a unique men machine interface. It can be also a special mobility support for disabled pedestrians and the user of the aging group.

From 2008 the social enterprise I-Cane Social Technology BV continued the works of the I-Cane foundation. Developing assistive technology for the blind and visual impaired requires true interaction with end users and patience since you need solutions which must be operational in almost any circumstance. A development time of 5–8 years must be expected for mobility tools for disabled people but is unattractive for those who seek a quick return on investment. Via support from the Social Economy network in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany the funds were raised to meet the matching requirements of EU ERDF (OP Zuid) and national grant arrangements.

Today this combination of public and private funding has resulted in an Euregion based platform of SMEs, with European wide knowledge institutes (such as the University of Delft, RWTH, Fraunhofer IPT, IMEC, TNO, ESA/Estec) and end cross border user organizations, led by I-Cane Social Technology BV and the I-Cane Foundation. In 2012 the first large scale tests with I-Cane systems have started start followed by a market introduction targeted in 2013.

A: What is the importance of finance for entrepreneurial ventures?

B: List the different sources of finance available for entrepreneurs and elaborate the sources of finance used by I-Cane Social Technology BV to finance their venture?

C: Based on the case above, assess the I-Cane Social Technology BV both as an innovation, and as an entrepreneurial venture?