DSI And UNDP Join Forces To Empower Tech Entrepreneurs
DSI And UNDP Join Forces To Empower Tech Entrepreneurs. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Africa will officially launch the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF).
The HEIF is a transformative initiative to empower student innovators and tech-entrepreneurs from TVET colleges and historically disadvantaged universities. More than just a fund, the HEIF represents a beacon of hope in addressing youth unemployment, inequality, and poverty by fostering the growth of the knowledge economy. It provides essential support to innovative minds, enabling them to transition from ideas to sustainable enterprises, with a particular focus on spotlighting small businesses as pivotal job creators in the country.
The HEIF seeks to empower aspiring innovators and tech entrepreneurs at South African higher education institutions by stimulating the creation of a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the post-school education sector in South Africa, with an emphasis on job creation and spin-off companies. Unveiling the fund on 25 March 2024, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, said the vision is to grow the fund to R1 billion and he invited private sector companies and other funding institutions to help achieve this objective.
The HEIF will be administered through calls for proposals from interested parties with suitable programmes and expertise who will work with universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. The fund aims to solve challenges in the innovation ecosystem such as a lack of skilled student tech entrepreneurs who can develop and commercialise competitive innovative products, a lack of entrepreneurial support and networks at universities and colleges, and limited exposure to opportunities, mentoring and coaching.
“These challenges are more acute in TVET colleges and historically disadvantaged universities,” said the Minister. The HEIF will support students through general entrepreneurship, ideation and design thinking, business model development, validation, commercialisation, market access, intellectual property protection and investor readiness. Minister Nzimande said the fund is also intended to plug the gaps in the existing suite of instruments and programmes available to support innovation and tech entrepreneurship in the country.
UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Maxwell Gomera, said the fund will foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within universities, as educational institutions are a reservoir of untapped potential that could address many challenges in Africa, from health to technology. “It is imperative that we build robust ecosystems that support these innovations. This means creating collaborative networks that include government, the private sector and academia, ensuring innovators have access to the mentorship, capital and platforms they need to thrive,” said Mr Gomera.
