NEWS

SAIS 2 national Focal Point, Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) recently held a stakeholder workshop in partnership with the Southern Africa Network for Biosciences, (NEPAD SANBio) in Gaborone.

The ntaka Hyperlocal Soil Advisory Services Project aims to improve access to soils advisory services through the establishment of a hyperlocal (mobile) soil spectroscopy laboratory to provide soils advisory services to over 10,500 farmers covering an area of 24,000 ha. The project is supported by the SAIS 2 Innovation Fund under the Window 3: Scaling Enterprises thematic area.

The Innovation Hub in Pretoria was a hive of excitement as 18 participants representing 16 of the 19 member organisations from 6 countries of the Connected Hubs met to take part in the much anticipated Peer-Learning Session.

Setup A Startup, the new parent organization of Southern Africa Startup Awards recently hosted a media launch for the 2nd edition of Southern Africa Startup Awards (SASA) at the Impact Hub Johannesburg on 10 April 2019. The organisation is the project coordinator of the Startup Regional Connectivity and Global Visibility project which is being supported through the SAIS 2 Innovation Fund.

One of the SAIS 2 Innovation Fund projects under thematic Window 3: Inclusive Innovations, recently marked the kickoff of the project with an official launch at Westbury Youth Center in Johannesburg. looking at implementing activities which stimulate economic participation among inner city youth, the project aims to strengthen youth entrepreneurship.

Events are viewed as important platforms to engage, network and grow innovation actors footprints across entrepreneurship ecosystems. High-quality events not only generate awareness of opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators but act as a much-needed catalyst for partnerships and potential investors. SAIS Connected Hubs has developed a resource for addressing the skills gap in event planning for innovation actors and entrepreneurship supporters.

The grantees of the 1st Call for Proposals of the SAIS 2 Innovation Fund are scheduled to receive capacity building across all 3 funding windows, with the training courses aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the SAIS 2 funded projects.

SAIS Connected Hubs grows when new members join the Network of Doers, bringing the total to 19 member organisations. The SAIS 2 Innovation Fund grantees who support startups have joined the network, which aims to provide a sustainable way for the top innovation actors in Southern Africa to connect, collaborate and create stronger linkages between innovation ecosystems.

The National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) recently handed over the official grant agreement to the first Namibian grant recipient of the Southern Africa Innovation Support Program (SAIS 2) Innovation Fund at a signing ceremony held in Windhoek.

SAIS 2 recently closed the 2nd Call for Proposals (2018/2) for the SAIS 2 Innovation Fund on 31 January 2019.

Ilari Lindy, SAIS 2 Lead Expert, offers key points on the role of innovation financing within SADC.

The National Commission for Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) of Namibia is both a Focal Point for Namibia as well as the host of Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (SAIS 2) as per the intergovernmental agreement signed between the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Technology and Innovation of Namibia (MHETI).