Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor is committed to further stimulating innovation in South Africa. This includes seeking to reduce the obstacles faced by the country’s innovators. She was talking to reporters on the first day of the recent Innovation Bridge event, in Pretoria.

At the same press conference, the chairperson of the council of the University of Johannesburg and chairperson of the Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management, Professor Roy Marcus, hailed the quality of South African innovators. At the same time, he lamented the fact that most of their compatriots were unaware of this. “One of the critical issues is that we don’t know how good we are,” he said. “There are technologies [developed] here that are absolutely world class.”

Referring to questions regarding the legal framework and legislation affecting innovators, Pandor noted that it was “an area we still need to work on, as South Africa. We’re working on amending the Intellectual Property Act. We’re interacting with this [process].” The Department of Science and Technology (DST) wants the amendment bill to facilitate the DST’s innovation objectives.

“But we have moved beyond where we were five years ago,” she pointed out. The country now has the National Intellectual Property Management Office (Nipmo), which was set up in 2011. At the end of 2013, it was designated a specialised service delivery unit of the DST. This serves to support innovators and their intellectual property (IP) issues. A survey of local innovators had revealed their concerns about the legal framework and especially the cost of protecting their IP. “If you don’t have the proper framework, it’s difficult [for innovators] to market [their innovations] out there,” said Pandor.

However, regarding patents, these “are not the be-all and end-all,” stated Marcus. In some sectors, technological progress is so fast that an innovation could be developed, successfully marketed, widely sold and become obsolete and be replaced by a new development before a patent has been be granted for the original innovation, so time consuming is the patent process.

There are, however, other issues, administrative, financial, legal, facing local innovators. “The real issue is to break down these obstacles,” he affirmed. “But it’s not just a government thing. It’s also a private-sector thing.” Established major South African companies are not funding or otherwise supporting innovators of small start-up companies, unlike the situation in countries such a the US. He added: “We need mentoring.” Innovative start-ups would benefit a lot, for example, from the advice and expertise of retired CEOs.

Developing an innovation is only the start of a process. “Our innovators have got to find a way to market it,” he highlighted. The Innovation Bridge is designed to facilitate the development and marketing of local innovations. “It’s like a bidding process.” The innovators need to convince potential investors to put their money into their projects.

“They [innovators] need to get away from the idea that Pretoria will provide,”he asserted. While government support was needed for big science projects, it was not required to support a lot of innovation.

Although innovation is taught, to a degree, in South African schools, the DST would like to see greater emphasis on it. There have been talks on the matter with the Department of Basic Education. Pandor would also like to have more funding available to support young innovators. The currently available funding is “a great start”.

The Innovation Bridge, which was held for the first time, was “a showcasing event,” she enthused. “It’s a showcase! An opportunity for partnerships to be built.” She also described it as a “technology matchmaking event”. The aim is to bring innovators, venture capitalists, IP lawyers and others together to develop partnerships, obtain funding and specialised support and develop new products for the local and international markets. Participants include innovation companies, science councils and universities. The event took place at the International Convention Centre of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research on February 2 and 3. The Innovation Bridge is an initiative of the DST, working with Nipmo, the Technology Innovation Agency and the South African Research and Innovation Management Association. The intent is, henceforth, to hold it every two years.