North West Province Innovation Support Platform

The purpose of the platform is to ensure that North West province becomes a knowledge-driven economy by introducing broad measures to improve performance in areas like ICT, R&D, education, entrepreneurial activity, innovation and knowledge flows- all of which are key determinants for innovative activity. The platform answers the provincial innovation and economic agenda as outlined in the Provincial Economic Strategy 2018 and PDP 2030. The platform objectives will be as follows:

• To enhance and promote innovation and technology transfer through structured support to create jobs while stimulating industry and government participation to increase their investment in technology, and innovation development.
• The forum enables the participation of SMMEs in all activities and linkages with the provincial government, to drive innovation activities in line with provincial priorities especially in terms of technology diffusion, product development and the promotion of innovation while harnessing Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) for socio-economic development.
• To build collaborative innovative communities that continually engage in sharing resources and transfer knowledge, to increase economic activities in the province, provide knowledge exchange, access to apprenticeship and higher skills development while building a network for “collaborative knowledge exchange and research activities” • Accelerate the communication between academia, government, industries and encourage highly interactive “three-way knowledge exchange” also referred to as the helix model while promoting, supporting and mentoring technology based SMMEs through the implementation of innovation-driven activities to amplify the existing economic drivers of the province.
• Initiating and implementing prospective innovation-driven projects, programmes and initiatives directed at spurring regional economies, industrialisation, regional capacity development and creation of job opportunities.
• Facilitate the development and accelerated entry of SMMEs (particularly youth and women entrepreneurs) in the ICT sector; and increasing levels of uptake and usage of ICTs by SMMEs across economic sectors.
• Establish a coordinated and integrated funding mechanism for the development of SMMEs, and promote inclusive economic growth.