Innovation Fund Overview
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South Africa is driving innovation to attract private sector investment, create jobs, and enhance economic competitiveness. Through targeted innovation funding programmes, the fund is empowering startups and tech-enabled SMEs to scale and succeed. Be part of this transformative movement and help shape the future of our economy. Innovative startups and tech-driven SMEs are the backbone of economic growth and job creation. Yet, too many fail due to a lack of early-stage funding. The Innovation Fund is here to change that. Established as a pilot, the fund is designed to bridge the critical funding gap, accelerate the commercialization of locally developed intellectual property, and drive the growth of high-tech enterprises. By de-risking early-stage investments, we are building a pipeline of sustainable, high-growth startups, ensuring South African innovation competes on a global scale. |
Discover South Africa's Vision for Science, Technology and Innovation!
Attract additional private sector investments into South Africa’s innovation ecosystem and venture capital industry.
Encourage the development and commercialisation of locally developed intellectual property as well as innovative products and services.
Provide catalytic (risk) capital backing to early-stage startups and tech-enabled SMMEs.
Strengthen infrastructure and support systems for innovation and venture building, including venture studios, incubators, accelerators, hubs, etc. to ensure a robust and interconnected ecosystem.
Build the human capabilities necessary to strengthen South Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
Download the Innovation Fund report now and explore how we’re driving startup growth, innovation, and economic transformation. Get your copy today!
Innovation Fund Overview
|
South Africa is driving innovation to attract private sector investment, create jobs, and enhance economic competitiveness. Through targeted innovation funding programmes, the fund is empowering startups and tech-enabled SMEs to scale and succeed. Be part of this transformative movement and help shape the future of our economy. Innovative startups and tech-driven SMEs are the backbone of economic growth and job creation. Yet, too many fail due to a lack of early-stage funding. The Innovation Fund is here to change that. Established as a pilot, the fund is designed to bridge the critical funding gap, accelerate the commercialization of locally developed intellectual property, and drive the growth of high-tech enterprises. By de-risking early-stage investments, we are building a pipeline of sustainable, high-growth startups, ensuring South African innovation competes on a global scale. |
Discover South Africa's Vision for Science, Technology and Innovation!
Attract additional private sector investments into South Africa’s innovation ecosystem and venture capital industry.
Encourage the development and commercialisation of locally developed intellectual property as well as innovative products and services.
Provide catalytic (risk) capital backing to early-stage startups and tech-enabled SMMEs.
Strengthen infrastructure and support systems for innovation and venture building, including venture studios, incubators, accelerators, hubs, etc. to ensure a robust and interconnected ecosystem.
Build the human capabilities necessary to strengthen South Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
Download the Innovation Fund report now and explore how we’re driving startup growth, innovation, and economic transformation. Get your copy today!
Innovation Capital
The Innovation Fund has continued to fuel South Africa’s innovation ecosystem by supporting its implementing partners through multiple Venture Capital Funds. Through its direct investment model, the Fund has also partnered with 27Four, Anza Capital and CSIR C3 strengthening access to finance for game-changing start-ups and SMEs.
Click on each Venture Capital Fund's logo to discover how they are powering innovation and shaping South Africa’s future.
Innovation Investments
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation and incorporates all national radio astronomy telescopes and programmes.
SARAO has established the following projects:
- A GPS Calibrator
- Callosal
- IronHive: Server Array
- Low cost engineered prosthetic limb (foot/lower leg) development
- Personalised HIV Platform
South African Astronomy Observatory (SAAO) Network's Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is upgrading its Robert Stobie Spectrograph (RSS) with a new single monolithic CCD detector to replace the old, fragmented one, improving performance and throughput by eliminating chip gaps and leveraging new fringe-suppression techniques. This new detector will be similar to the one used in the RSS-Red arm, with the goal of being operational by early 2026.
The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) has been exploring marine red algae along the Eastern Cape coastline as a source of novel compounds with potential against breast cancer. These algae, including species such as Laurencia and Gelidium, produce chemically diverse metabolites such as halogenated terpenes, bromophenols, and sulfated polysaccharides.
Read more
Walter Sisulu University's Blue Lab, a remote, rapid and on site, easy to use scientific water quality monitoring kit.
Innovation Fund Open and Closed Calls
Innovation Reports
Stay informed with our latest publications, reports, success stories and insights—your gateway to understanding how innovation is shaping the future. Discover how groundbreaking technologies, impactful collaborations are transforming industries and communities.
The Innovation Fund is committed to fuelling South Africa's potential through strategic investments that drive economic growth, job creation, and global competitiveness. The fund provides innovators with access to networks and capital, empowering them to develop solutions that not only enhance quality of life but also promote environmental sustainability.
Explore our latest reports and be part of the ecosystem!