The South African government is willing to do everything possible to support local businesses and give them access to export markets all over the world.
This was said by the Chief Director of Strategic Partnerships and Customer Care at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Ms Tsepiso Makgothi. She was speaking to entrepreneurs who attended the wokshop hosted at the Nelson Mandela Bay iHub in Gqeberha, to promote the dtic’s Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII).
the dtic is focusing on initiatives aimed at increasing job creation, especially for the youth and the SPII is a vehicle through which globally competitive, innovation-driven businesses in the ICT sector could be established, supported and developed.
The programme is designed to promote technological advancements and innovations in South Africa through providing financial assistance for the development of new products and processes.
Makgothi said included in the government’s drive to open up markerts for South African business is the commitment to fully utilise instruments such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Agreement to the benefit of local entereprises and the economy.
“Innovation is the way to go to develop new sub-sectors and open up the market for South Africa. We should not be confined to where we currently are because the market in South Africa is quite small. It is important for us to do what it takes to support businesses that want to venture into the African market through the ACFTA as well as other global markets,” she said.
The SPII offers a grant of up to R5 million per project to support businesses, which are doing work at the early stages of developing a prototype. The funding is available to qualifying enterprises as a non-repayable grant.
Since its intergration to the dtic in 2015 from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), 107 projects have been approved so far to the total of R296 million.
Makgothi encouraged entrepreneurs in attendance to be conscious of the endless possibilities in what they can contribute to the globe with their innovations.
Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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