The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has reinstated in March, 11, 2018, its Grassroots Innovation program  which hopes to unearth the country’s next biggest inventors. The program which is run in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Technology Localization Implementation Unit (TLIU) was relaunch after a successful run in 2017 and recent funding boost from government toward innovation. 

The program which seeks to offer rural innovators a platform to scale their inventions and incubate them, through government assistance, into formal businesses, is also being relaunched amid President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to the growth of small business. During his State of the Nation Address debate last month, Ramaphosa said that government was working to create a conducive environment for investment in efficient networks that enable the reduction of costs, enhance competition and remove barriers to entry by small businesses. 

A fund of R1bn was allocated in 2019/20, to provide wholesale funding to private and public sector incubators for entrepreneurs at a concept stage.