Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Professor Blade Nzimande has called on the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) to lead new industry in the Eastern Cape.
He said the zone and its Science and Technology Park should drive growth through innovation, supplier development and jobs that reach more people, according to SAnews.
“We must use the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park to move ideas into factories, prototypes into products and local solutions into markets,” Nzimande said.
The minister spoke during a high-level visit to the ELIDZ. He said industrial growth in South Africa must be backed by a strong national system of innovation. He said this system should link research, skills and technology with production and the needs of communities.
Nzimande said Special Economic Zones must offer more than land, buildings and incentives. He said laboratories, incubators, training centres, investors and manufacturers should work together on shared industrial goals.
He said these zones should not be judged only on buildings and investment. He said success should also be measured by productivity, better suppliers, patents, prototypes, new products, skills and competitiveness.
The minister repeated his plan to turn the current regional innovation forum into a science, technology and innovation forum for Buffalo City. He said the new forum would bring institutions together and find local problems that need new solutions. It would also link those problems with experts and support science parks tied to economic zones across the province.
“Innovation-led industrialisation must open opportunities for small enterprises, township and rural innovators, women-owned businesses and young people. The benefits must extend beyond the zone into Buffalo City, Mdantsane, surrounding towns and the wider provincial economy,” Nzimande said.
The government said East London’s car industry offers room to grow advanced manufacturing. This includes skills in automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and digital production.
According to SAnews, the move towards electric and other new-energy vehicles could also create new products and businesses. The same applies to sustainable materials and manufacturing that reuses resources.
Nzimande said the Eastern Cape could build a joined-up innovation system. He said it could connect its universities, TVET colleges, ports, factories, farming, renewable energy and young population.
The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation said it has supported the ELIDZ in several ways. It worked through bodies such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).
The department funded the study that led to the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park, which opened in 2014. Between 2018 and 2023, it gave R2.4 million to the East London Regional Innovation Networking Platform.
According to the department, that platform reached 120 beneficiaries. These included 17 small businesses focused on technology.
The department also said it piloted a bio-entrepreneurship programme. The programme helps new businesses turn local hemp and cannabis plant material into higher-value biomaterials and biochemicals.
Nzimande also called for better technology transfer, incubation and supplier development. He asked for wider access to research facilities and for incentives that support innovation and local production.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SAnews.gov.za. Image: GCIS via SAnews.gov.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.