Consumer

Boutique service providers rather than large firms taste equity tidbits alongside a cash main course.

An entrepreneurial metamorphosis is taking shape in the Middle East.

The 2010 State of Innovation Report is the second annual analysis of 12 technology areas and their global innovation by the IP Solutions business of media group Thomson Reuters.

Corporate venturing has undergone massive changes in the past 50 years, tracking with the growth and evolution of venture capital (VC) in a sequence of phases or waves punctuated by economic downturns.

A round-up of corporate venturing deals.

Clean-tech dominates corporate venturing investment amounts rather than deal numbers as overall volumes and values start to rise again.

Remgro's Invenfin corporate venturing unit will help Ad Dynamo with its international expansion having previously provided the seed round, according to news provider Memeburn.

Indiamart, which was founded in 1998, previously raised $10m from Intel Capital, the corporate venturing unit of US-listed semiconductor company Intel, in 2008 by selling a 14% stake and $3.4m in return for about 5% stake from Brand Equity Treaty the year before.

News provider Wall Street Journal said Amazon valued Lovefilm at about $320m but the cost of acquisition was offset by its 42% holding.

News provider Nikkei said Intel's Japanese unit would help develop software and provide other technical support for the e-book store, which will open early next month after Intel Capital invested an undisclosed amount for its minority stake in Bitway.

Backed by Naguib Sawiris, the entrepreneur behind the Orascom group, Sawari will invest in early- and growth-stage technology companies in the Middle East, such as its first two deals, Alzwad Mobile Services and Vimov.