By ECRINP & iHub
The Regional Innovation Networking platform was established in March 2020, to create and promote a competitive and inclusive multi-stakeholder innovation platform in the Eastern Cape Province.
The main purpose of the platform is to drive innovation in the province through capacity building interventions in technology commercialisation, and to encourage innovators and industry to work together.
The platform seeks partnership with both public and private sector to support innovators with seed funding for further development of their technologies/innovations. The platform has also developed a mechanism to effectively coordinate various training programmes related to technology development in the province.
It is aimed to strengthen regional/rural innovation systems by bringing together various players such as industry, government, academia, technology SMMEs and other players in the research, development and innovation (RDI) community.
The focus is on technology development at the grassroots level to encourage, promote and support inclusive economic growth. The Regional Innovation Networking platform is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation through the Technology Localization Implementation Unit within the CSIR.
The platform encourages collaboration in building the EC ecosystem and has managed to bring together 8 stakeholders to date, namely:
- Nelson Mandela Bay University
- Rhodes University
- Propella Incubator
- Cacadu Development Agency
- Coega IDZ
- East London IDZ
- National Youth Development Agency
- Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber
Together with the Nelson Mandela Bay Innovation Hub as the implementing partner. To be part of the Eastern Cape Innovation Eco-system, kindly contact Mrs Karabo Nxiweni on 0833007583 or email karabon@nmbihub.co.za for more information.
By ECDC & iHub
Establishment of a virtual platform to support MSME developed by ECDC in partnership with the NM iHub.
Purpose of the MSME Engagement Platform
“To develop a virtual programme/platform to support MSMEs from a business perspective”
Objectives of the programme
The objective of the Programme is:
- To link EC MSMEs to finance opportunities
- To promote MSME compliance
- Promote access to markets and foster Business to Business linkages
- To facilitate capacity building through the provision of learning resources
- To provide financial bookkeeping/accounting support resources
- To enable MSMEs access to Business diagnostic and Business intelligence tools
- To provide an enabling environment for MSMEs
By iHub
Our enterprise development officers spent the morning engaging with ICT entrepreneurs in Motherwell where they shared the various benefits of operating an IT business, the opportunities that exist for them and how the Nelson Mandela Bay iHub makes the entrepreneur journey smoother and how we take businesses from ideation to profitable.
