Khimji Vaghjiani

BEng, MBA, MSc, PhD Named Australian Innovator of the year 2010 for the innovative solar off-grid product, also awarded the Australian International Design Award 2010 for internationalising the solar product. Khimji has exported the solar off-grid product to 12 countries around the world and worked with SME’s and understands the key issues with working with small entrepreneurial or family businesses. Khimji has 22 years’ experience combining Solar, R&D, technology management & commercialisation within banking, telecommunications, manufacturing and R&D, combined with 5 years as Director of a $100m technology centre. Khimji ran Corporate Venture capital unit with Westpac wherein he would conduct technology due diligence, and full compatibility of SME within Westpac. Khimji has been on the leading edge of emerging technology developments with SME’s, and been a judge of a number of high profile technology awards in Australia. Khimji has also managed as a Project Director large scale business and infrastructure projects with responsibility for planning, budgets, and resourcing at a number of organisations. Currently a strategic advisor to a number of SME’s helping with Export development grants, R&D planning for tax, Grant application, International market entry development, Business Plan and Information Memorandum development, Technology due diligence analysis. Khimji has gained valuable business insights by conducting in-depth interviews with many executives of large corporates as well as SME’s in a number of roles, as part of his PhD, and as part of his role at Westpac where he worked with SME’s for 8 years to understand their banking needs as well as SME’s strategic partnerships. Khimji has taught innovation and entrepreneurship up to Masters level at UTS and International Marketing Entry Strategies at the University of Western Sydney. He has lectured the executive Masters program at Charles Sturt University and has taught Engineering at Macquarie University and the University of Sydney.