The South African Innovation Ecosystem Policy Hub (SAIEPH) has been launched to help South Africa’s innovation community work together more effectively. The aim is to strengthen South Africa’s innovation ecosystem and improve how policy decisions are made.
As the Policy Hub enters its pilot phase, which will run until 2028, it will build a clearer picture of South Africa’s innovation environment, help turn evidence and research into practical policy and action, and bring together stakeholders from across the globe.
The SAIEPH was also created in part to co-inspire and boost research and development (R&D) to help close these gaps, among other objectives.
The programme is a partnership between Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), charity trust Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies and entrepreneurial ecosystem education organisation Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE) at Stellenbosch University.
“South Africa has strong universities, research institutions, businesses and entrepreneurs, but these strengths do not always connect. Information is often fragmented and policy interventions are largely designed in isolation, which limits ecosystem synergies and innovation spillovers,” says CSIR programme manager Michelle Harding.
