Dr Sibisi, Ms Najwah Allie-Edries, entrepreneurs and innovators, it's a pleasure to be here at the CSIR.
The CSIR has always been a government-funded organisation, and today derives about 80% of its income from public funds, either directly in the form of a grant or indirectly through other public sector organisations including parastatals and government departments.
Unlike advanced industrial countries, we have not scaled down the relative importance of public research institutes in our national innovation system. South Africa has an extensive network of public research institutes, accounting for 19% of the total R&D performance. This is double the United Kingdom and only slightly lower than Russia, whichhas the most extensive network of all developed countries.
In terms of the future, it is our expectation that the various science councils will play a role in socio-economic development of South Africa, by assisting us to use science to develop knowledge products and services that positively alter poverty, inequality and unemployment.
This CSIR has taken this obligation with great seriousness, it plays a critical role in the National Development Plan’s innovation-led model of development.
The launch of the Bio-manufacturing Industry Development Centre (BIDC) is further evidence of this commitment.
The National Development Plan calls for a more effective national innovation system with stronger linkages, improved overall coordination and a greater investment in R&D.
And that's what the Centre does. It blends R&D, in its R50 million dedicated facility, with industrial and commercial expertise. Over the last two years it's become a hub for open innovation for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in bio-manufacturing. It's incubated companies. It's the first centre of this kind in South Africa in supporting SMMEs involved in bio-manufacturing.
Currently the Centre supports19 enterprises, of which 16 are owned by black entrepreneurs, including 10 black women-owned enterprises.
You've just heard Ms Makekele Tladi, the Marketing Director of the Elvema Nutrition, tell her company's story.
It's a success story.
Elvema is selling products through Pick and Pay, Spar and Shoprite and also into 10 countries (Botswana, Nigeria, DRC, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Angola) in Southern Africa. It employs 31 new employees.
It's the sort of success that inspires thousands of others.
We have another success story.
During his studies towards an engineering diploma at Tshwane University of Technology, Siyabonga Xaba developed a passionate interest in water treatment.
In 2014 he joined the Centre programme as an intern. He received hands on training in technology and product development activities. He was also mentored by Centre staff and entrepreneurs from companies being supported by the Centre.
He was inspired.
In May 2015 he started his own company, GX Insight. The company provides environmentally friendly water and sanitation products to commercial outlets, retail stores, restaurants and filling stations. While the company is still small and growing, Siya sees his company playing a critical role in providing solutions to the water shortage crisis facing South Africa.
The Centre is funded through the Department of Science and Technology’s R500 million three-year Industrial Innovation Partnership Programme.
One of the key objectives of the Industry Innovation Partnership is to encourage the private sector to invest more into R&D. It enables strategic partnerships with the private sector (established firms as well as emerging players and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs)).
The strategic partnerships that government has in mind are many and varied. For example, SKA SA and NMC Civils announced this week that they have partnered with Absa in a R34,5 million enterprise and supply chain initiative to develop and support SMEs in the Northern Cape through the SKA programme. Specifically this involves building the road between Carnarvon and the SKA SA Losberg construction site.
It's that's sort of partnership that makes a difference.
All the facilities supported under the Industry Innovation Programme have the potential to play a role in the development of high technology SMMEs.
The Centre is, as you've heard, also supported by the Treasury's Jobs Fund Programme.
This is the first time that the CSIR has partnered with the Jobs Fund and I hope that it is the first of many more partnerships in the future.
In government, we are mindful of the fact that half our population is under twenty-five, and that they make up much of the 8 million currently unemployed. The critical link between poverty and inequality is in unemployment and that's why government sees in science and technology SMMEs the keys to the future employment of many young adults.
The CSIR will now play a special role in incubating SMMEs – in the development of the industries and services that will provide the meaningful employment we so desperately need.
For young people to share in the country’swealth, we need faster growth.
This means we need to produce more. Specifically,the productive sectors of the economy– like manufacturing,agriculture and mining– need to account for a greater share of economic output and employment.
We need to add more value to the mineral resources we extract through greater beneficiation,reducing our dependence on the export of unprocessed commodities,boosting domestic manufacturing and creating jobs.
Through the Industrial Policy Action Plan and the New Growth Path, we are implementing measures to reconfigure the industrial landscape.
We are innovating.We are working to improve productivity and become more competitive. Among otherthings,government and business are working more closely to incentivise research, development, innovation and the more effective application of technology.
We are an innovative African nation.
Four of the ten nominees for the 2016 Innovation Prize Africa, the premier innovation initiative in Africa, are South African.
Two are doctors - Dr Imogen Wright who invented Exatype, a software solution that enables healthcare workers to determine HIV positive patients’ responsiveness to ARV drug treatment, and Dr Kit Vaughan whose innovation, Aceso, is an imaging technology that dramatically improves breast cancer detection.
The other two are energy innovators - Andre Nel, whose Green Tower innovation is an off-grid water heating and air conditioning solution based on solar power, and Johan Theron whose PowerGuard creation enables consumers to determine the maximum amount of power supply required for daily operations.
We are developing new markets for our products especially on the African continent that has just become our biggest tradingzone.Although there has been strong growth in the domestic consumer market,South Africa is are latively small market,particularly when compared to its partners in BRICS.
Africa has a billion people and is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. We are working to achieve greater economic integration and diversify the range of goods and services that we export.
Faster growth is essential if we are to realise the vision of sharing our country's wealth.But it is not sufficient.We need to ensure that growth is also inclusive.The benefits of growth need to be more equitably shared.
The most important instrument to achieve this is faster job creation.
In our situation,wheresome sectors of the economy already provide decent jobs,we need to combine mass absorption intothelabourmarket with adetermination to protect and expand access to these decent jobs.We have to promote and grow industries that are labour absorbing, such as mining, agriculture,construction, hospitality and small businesses.We also have to grow the more advanced sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing,financial services,tele-communications and businesses services.
That's why the CSIR's Bio-Manufacturing Industry Development Centre is so important.
Thank you.
