Innovation and the challenges being faced by government

Innovation in South Africa has been highlighted by both the private and public sectors as an important element for the economy’s development on the world stage.

South Africa’s innovation challenges are in many ways unique with scientists, business people and technology experts seeking to make new advancements in technology, medicine and the like, while there are also those who seek to find simple yet innovative solutions to practical issues, such as the provision of basic services to the poor in South Africa. Mobile delivery of medicines to rural areas is one such innovative idea, which has taken hold in certain rural communities in South Africa. One such initiative is The Phelophepa Healthcare Train, which provides healthcare to rural areas using the country's extensive rail system.

There will always be challenges, based on South Africa’s limited ability to extensively invest in research and development, with most resources being devoted to basic services provision. 

The South African government has however made a commitment to not only supporting innovation but helping develop policy for furthering innovation initiatives. In a speech made by the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, at the 2009 Innovation Summit, she outlined five ‘grand challenges’ as part of South Africa’s ten-year innovation plan.

She noted that the first challenge is to harness the potential of the bio-economy for the pharmaceutical industry. This would be done by exploring South Africa’s vast biodiversity resource base and in turn using that knowledge in developing an internationally competitive pharmaceutical industry.

The second challenge is to further efforts in the area of space science and technology. This challenge was significantly boosted by the launch of the Sumbandila satellite, which was successfully launched last month, on 17 September, in Kazakhstan.

“The satellite carries a high-resolution camera that will produce images for use in monitoring agriculture, mapping infrastructure and land use, tracking population movement, and measuring the water levels of dams.”

“Data will be streamed to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's Satellite Applications Centre (SAC) at Hartbeeshoek, near Pretoria, for analysis and policy development purposes (Reported by the Department of Science and Technology’s website on 17 September 2009).”

The third ‘grand challenge’ is to make significant strides in developing and utilising renewable energy. The secure availability of energy is crucial to South Africa’s economic future and renewable energy sources are readily available to exploit.

The fourth challenge is to tackle climate change and take a leading role in the Southern African region. South Africa’s unique position on the tip of Africa, with our proximity to the Antarctic, the Southern Ocean and the interactions between the Agulhas and Benguela currents, means that we can play a major role in collecting data and developing solutions for climate change.

The fifth challenge is to successfully manage South Africa’s human capital by monitoring human and social behaviour and creating an enabling environment for a competitive and innovative workforce.

The Department has also noted that advanced levels of human capital is the key driver for innovation and therefore education and skills development need to be a top priority.

Ingenuity and practicality

It has also become clear that South African individuals and South African businesses are making strides in innovation. Recent comment from Justin Stanford, from venture funding group 4Di Capital, noted that local technology innovators have improved the way they package and present their business plans to potential investors.

Justin Stanford is confident in the development of South African technological innovation and has undertaken with Vinny Lingham, a leading technology entrepreneur, to launch the Cape Silicon initiative, which will provide investors and technology innovators with information about funding initiatives and industry news.

According to HBD Venture Capital’s CEO, Julia Fourie, South African businesses have a particularly strong track record in information technology in areas such as banking and mobile technology.

Fourie also points out that, “… more information needs to publicised about innovation in South Africa. More South Africans need to be made aware of all the great South African-led innovation ideas and projects. It is also crucial for new South African innovators to understand what does and doesn’t work or why a certain project might not have done well in the past. The knowledge gained through the experience of others will in turn drive more successful ventures.”

Fourie finally notes that South African innovation is very often at the forefront of international standards but the commercialisation of those ideas is not always the best. The improvement of the commercialisation of innovative ideas is the big challenge for South African entrepreneurs, scientists and other bright minds.

Success in innovation

There are undoubtedly many examples of success in South African ingenuity. The University of Cape Town for example lists five success stories linked to various departments. Hot Platinum, Cape Carotene, Cell-Life, Stereotactic Pointer, AngioDesign are the five listed. The Hot Platinum project for example, has successfully developed innovative platinum casting equipment from technology developed by the UCT Engineering & Built Environment Faculty. The equipment is capable of melting and casting, platinum (20-250g), palladium, gold, silver and stainless steel using standard single phase power; making it an accessible and cost effective solution to small manufacturing jewelers as well as dentists. An innovative centrifugal casting unit optimises the casting process.

UCT graduates and entrepreneurs Ali Brey (Managing Director) and Irshad Khan (Technical Director) established a production facility in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, from which they have produced units that have been distributed to nearly all the jewelry design centres at tertiary institutions as well as a number of mining houses, and jewellers in South Africa. The firm achieved European Certification and learnt a great deal in the process - overcoming a significant hurdle in commercialisation. After a successful reception at a number of international trade fares, the export market is opening up and the first units have been exported.

Another recent example of a successful company receiving funding was Skyrove. It is a business that allows anyone to set up their own internet WiFi hotspot and make money from sharing it with others. It has over 500 hotspots in South Africa and over 20 000 registered users. It received funding from 4Di Capital, a New-Jersey based company, mentioned above.

Where do innovators get support?

There are a number of venues for South African innovators to seek assistance in formulating their ideas and applying for financial assistance. One such venue is the Innovation Hub in Pretoria.

“The Innovation Hub - Africa's first internationally accredited Science Park and a full member of the International Association of Science Parks - is the leading knowledge-intensive business cluster in South Africa. The Innovation Hub has created a unique space for high-tech entrepreneurs, world-class businesses, academics, researchers and venture capitalists to meet, network and prosper (www.theinnovationhub.com).”

The Innovation Hub is a government initiative with Blue IQ, on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, having an investment of over R346 million in the infrastructure development. The park is however home to numerous private businesses with the Innovation Hub Management Company (Pty) Ltd, in conjunction with Property Owners’ Association, responsible for the management of the park.

There are other private innovation initiatives such as the IBM African Innovation Centre. “The Africa Innovation Centre (AIC) is fundamentally an enablement facility for crucial ICT skills such as software development, and will critically advance the creation of new quality jobs.

The AIC provides an innovative client and partner environment which aligns industry knowledge, partner and academic enablement, and technical expertise in an integrated centre, providing an end-to-end solution sales experience to drive revenue growth (www-05.ibm.com/za/aic/).”

This is obviously a great private venture where those with great ideas and well developed technology skills can be part of internationally renowned company’s drive to provide advanced ICT services.

In addition to these two examples there are numerous organisations and private investment companies who can be approached for assistance, financial or other.

The Department of Science and Technology lists the following agencies as funders of innovation in science and technology:

• National Research Foundation (NRF)
• Water Research Commission (WRC)
• Safety in Mining Research (SIMRAC)
• Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP)
• Innovation Fund
• Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centres (BRICS)
• National Bioinformatics Network

Apart from these government-led initiatives, there are also private foundations such as the Shuttleworth Foundation, which support Not-for-Profit initiatives. Mark Shuttleworth also founded HBD Venture Capital, which funds for-profit businesses that are in early stage development, most of which are innovative technology companies.

A comprehensive list of venture capital and private equity firms can be found on the South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s (SAVCA) website.