The East London Industrial Development Zone (Elidz) officially launched its Science and Technology Park (STP) in East London, last month, to accelerate economic development.
Located in the Elidz, the STP is expected to increase the competitive and comparative advantage of the industrial development zone (IDZ), following the global trend of science parks forming an important part of a country’s economic land- scape. This has become evident in countries such as China, Russia and Brazil, which have managed to integrate these parks into their industrial developments.
“The Elidz STP is designed as an attractive, functional and interactive space to encourage the exchange of ideas and facilitate the development of creative and technical solutions to problems. Its services include various laboratory facilities, training platforms, an open innovation platform and networking solutions, as well as incubator services,” said Elidz CEO Simphiwe Kondlo during the launch.
He added that collaborating with the International Association of Science Parks (Iasp) meant that the Elidz STP had the opportunity to network with almost every globally recognised science park. This collaboration provided the opportunity for innovative solutions developed within the Elidz STP to be globally recognised, which, in turn, could lead to innovators either selling their technology or attracting financing to further create an industry for their technology.
“Not only is the Elidz STP the first science park to be launched within an IDZ in South Africa but it also acts as an enabler of the development of ‘smart cities’, which place science and technology at the forefront of economic development,” stated Isap president McLean Sibanda.
Meanwhile, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research group executive Dr Rachel Chikwamba said the Elidz STP’s inception supported the development of new industries, which would be based on “sound science and technology principles”.
Moreover, information and communication technology (ICT) services provider Dimension Data chairperson Dr Andile Ngcaba highlighted that, as technological development continued through the Elidz STP, the ultimate goal had to be creating entrepreneurs and raising more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which would further drive the National Development Plans’ 2030 target.
“The Elidz STP is a key development in the Eastern Cape’s provincial innovation system. It is envisaged that it will catalyse the development of provincial knowledge-based activities that will feed into the development of the province,” stressed Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor during her keynote address at the launch.
She further indicated that the STP would enable the industrial, research, SME and governmental partners to leverage “scaled economies” created through shared facilities, such as the creative and attractive common area that future start-up companies could use when conducting business at the STP.
“This would also establish multidimensional connections of traditional knowledge systems, tertiary institutions, entrepreneurs and the public and private sectors,” Pandor pointed out.
The Minster further praised the incubation programmes of Dimension Data’s Cortex Hub, the Eastern Cape Information and Technology Initiative and chemistry and minerology company Chemin as the “future promise” of resourcing and capacitating start-ups, especially in the ICT and high-technology innovation space.
“These may well become the future business and industry leaders of the local and regional innovation system, “ she said.
Consequently, Pandor highlighted that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) had invested in the development of regional innovation forums, the first of which was launched in the Eastern Cape in March 2011.
Forums aim to bring together industry, government, academia and civil society to create an enabling environment for innovation and synergies between the different parties. The forums link role-players to ensure there is less duplication of initiatives, and they drive specific projects such as a local science or research park. More than 200 members are currently registered on the Eastern Cape Regional Innovation Forum’s database.
“The DST also played a small role in cofunding the feasibility study and value chain study for this science park and in supporting the development of a provincial innovation strategy for the Eastern Cape. “The latter strategy also highlighted the need to increase innovation coordination to advance socioeconomic development and growth,” she mentioned.
Pandor concluded that the STP would play a key role in connecting the science, technology and innovative knowledge partners, fostering cooperation among them in the area and in informing the appropriate frameworks for future innovation infrastructure.