​Manufacturing

J-Bridge is an international business platform established by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) to facilitate open innovation, joint R&D, strategic alliances, capital partnerships, and cross-border collaborations between Japanese companies and leading overseas startups or businesses, especially in digital, green, and life sciences.

J-Bridge connects companies through:

The Innovation Hub, Gauteng’s flagship innovation agency, is inviting applications for its comprehensive Business Incubation Programme for startups driving innovation in the Green Economy (energy, water, waste), Bio-economy (health, agro/food-processing, diagnostics, medical devices, smart agriculture), and Smart Industries (ICT, advanced manufacturing, gaming, animation, VR/AR, industrial IoT, cyber security, AI, additive manufacturing).

Globalstars is a multilateral funding initiative enabling international research and development collaboration. The current call supports joint R&D projects between Japan and participating EUREKA countries, including South Africa, Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Denmark, France, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The Global Sustainability Challenge is a prestigious annual competition open to university students worldwide including those from South Africa inviting bold, tangible solutions to sustainability challenges. Backed by Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, SEforALL, and a network of global partners, the challenge empowers student teams to address pressing issues under two transformative pillars: Sustainable Energy and Adaptation & Resilience.

Participants move through three high-impact phases:

Overview of the Opportunity

The Lab (Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance) has officially launched its 2026 Call for Ideas, inviting high-impact, scalable climate finance solutions from innovators around the world. The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) serves as the Lab Secretariat.

The National Business Initiative (NBI) is driving this campaign, focusing on the IRM Initiative. 

Target Beneficiaries: Local Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), township enterprises, TVET students, youth entrepreneurs, and artisans.

The goal is to empower SMMEs by removing technical, financial, and market barriers, enabling them to create more jobs and play a key role in building a sustainable and inclusive Just Energy Transition (JET). 

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is inviting suitable candidates to express their interest in joining a national initiative known as the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Innovation Cluster (APIIC). This cluster is driven by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), with the CSIR serving as the host.

Purpose and Context