Review of 2010 shows corporate venturing has become a crucial tool for growth and dealing with the legacy of the credit crunch.

As the start of a new decade, 2010 was appropriately the year when countries, companies and individuals roiled by the credit crunch took a fresh look at how they would use innovation to cut costs or increase revenues.

Debt magnifies returns – whether positive or negative – but often in effect pulls forward future income to be spent in the present. The loosening of credit controls and the debt explosion over the past 40 years culminated in the credit explosion…