Programme Director, Mr Mukhufhi;
MEC for Gauteng Economic Development, Mr Nkosiphendule Kolisile;
Member of the City of Tshwane Mayoral Committee, Mr Subesh Pillay;
HOD for Gauteng Economic Development, Mr Khulu Radebe;
Innovation Fund CEO, Mr McLean Sibanda;
Acting CEO of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, Mr Siphiwe Ngwenya;
Prof. Dennis Liotta, Emory University;
Distinguished guests
I am delighted to be able to join you in honouring bio-entrepreneurship this evening. Not everyone is blessed with the ability to bring a life-science or technology-based solution to the market, and those who are successful in doing so should be acknowledged and rewarded.
With jobs being created faster in the informal sector than the formal one, entrepreneurship is vital for employment and wealth creation essential issues for South Africa.
The key word generally associated with entrepreneurial spirit and acumen is "innovation", which implies something new, something untested and something bold. Innovation is also an important word when we talk about science and technology, with the understanding being that innovative ideas should have a practical, positive effect on society. So it is clear that science and entrepreneurship are very much intertwined.
There are many people who question whether we as a country should be investing in a high risk, long-term sector such as biotechnology. The short answer is of course, yes. The opportunities are enormous, and the needs are great. We must not be left behind.
Major breakthroughs have been accomplished this year alone in health biotechnology and specifically in malaria drug development and understanding antibody activities against the HI virus. In the area of Agri-biotech, South Africa was one of the first developing countries to commercially approve transgenic crops. Today, South African farmers have responded to the new technology as demonstrated by the rapid adoption rates of crops such as cotton, maize and soybeans.
There is extensive biotech research and experimental development that is taking place at our research and higher education institutions. The key to unlocking the value that lies in South Africa’s biotechnology is in the hands of the bio-entrepreneurs and those that support them through funding, training, business development, incubation and so on.
The defining characteristic of a bio-entrepreneur is biotechnological competence. We know that biotechnology is a highly complex field that has its own jargon, complex routes to commercialisation, and significantly extended time frames. Bio-entrepreneurs need to avoid unrealistic expectations and to see their work as a journey towards a solution, not a quick fix.
This makes one wonder why anybody would want to become a bio-entrepreneur. Perhaps they are drawn by the incredible power and potential of biotechnology, or the fact that the innovation naturally linked to biotechnology mirrors the innovation that lies at the core of entrepreneurial spirit.
South Africa has many pockets of world-class expertise and excellence across the life-science and biotechnology spectrum. We also have many potential and established bio-entrepreneurs, but we need to work on improving the environment in which they work so that they can flourish. One of the challenges here is funding, because entrepreneurs can only be successful if they are able to raise significant financial resources for their idea.
Acknowledging this, the Technology Innovation Agency supports early stage or higher risk entrepreneurial development and innovation.
We are currently in the final stages of our work on the Bioeconomy Strategy, which aims to help develop a vibrant and rapidly maturing innovation system. There will be mechanisms to guide, support and mentor bio-entrepreneurs. It is encouraging to note that the government, through the Innovation Hub and the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, for example, is doing so much to encourage bio-entrepreneurship.
This evening we honour the winning graduates of the GAP-Biosciences initiative. This relatively new but already successful collaboration between the Innovation Hub and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, aims to develop entrepreneurial skills to accelerate the establishment of viable bioscience start-up companies.
The Department of Science and Technology is proud to be a major sponsor of this programme. It will contribute to the transfer of essential business skills to bioscience researchers and postgraduate students. It will also improve the prospects for bioscience start-ups to contribute to socio-economic development in agriculture, health and industrial biotechnology.
One of the main challenges with turning research outputs into commercial enterprises is the lack of critical pre-commercial infrastructure and access to support services. Public investment in infrastructure like science parks, for example, will encourage private-sector support by way of follow-up funding, which will significantly lower the risks associated with innovative ventures.
Increased public research support, institutional reforms, new innovation-industry linkages and advanced market commitments by government will lead to new manufacturing capabilities, sustainable jobs and enhanced absorptive capacity of the system for knowledge workers.
We know from our experiences with the biotechnology regional innovation centres that most bio-entrepreneurs are inexperienced when it comes to corporate governance, business and guiding their product's development through the regulatory minefield. The relatively low level of business-related skills among bioscience researchers limits their ability to set up and maintain successful start-up companies.
To address this, a business basics workshop was held at the Innovation Hub in March this year to give participants a high-level overview of the essential requirements for starting and maintaining a start-up company. After the workshop, seven teams were selected to develop their skills further. They participated in a compulsory week-long certified course on executive education presented by Emory University's Goizueta Business School. This sort of collaboration does much to advance South African bio-entrepreneurship and I would like to thank Emory University's Prof Dennis Liotta, who is spearheading the initiative.
My congratulations go to the teams with the top three business plans, who will be announced later this evening. At stake are substantial cash prizes, one year's free incubation at the Innovation Hub and continued mentorship and business support for a year. This will give the fledgling enterprises involved a massive boost. Who knows, a JSE listing may not be that far off.
To conclude I would like to quote Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, who once said “the biggest risk you can take is to take no risk". Tonight we are surrounded by risk takers whose never-say-die attitude and entrepreneurial spirit have brought them to this prestigious awards ceremony. I look forward to hearing about your success stories in the years to come.
Thank you.
