The small business sector in South Africa is a critical part of the national economy. It contributes significantly to reducing unemployment, poverty alleviation and addressing inequality. The National Development Plan (NDP), South Africa’s vision for 2030, states that “Small & Medium-sized firms will play an important role in employment creation… [and] that net new employment is not typically created on a significant scale in existing businesses. This is usually the preserve of newly established business entities, which tend to be smaller in size. We need to foster sustainable businesses with the potential for job creation and competition”.
The effective use of intellectual property and associated rights can ensure that we build stronger, more competitive and resilient businesses. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World IP day celebrations acknowledge SME ingenuity, creativity and the impact that these SMEs are making in different communities!
The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in partnership with Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), and the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) will soon be launching the results of the 2014-2018 Second South African National Survey of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (IP and TT survey) at publicly funded research institutions. The survey results highlight, amongst other things, some positive trends with regards to start-up/spin-out company formation with 55 start-up/spin-out companies being formed from institutional IP over the survey period 2014 to 2018. Employment created by start-ups increased by 37% over the period.
The survey results will soon be available on the following websites:
SARIMA: https://www.sarima.co.za/resources/innovation-technology-transfer/
DSI: https://www.dst.gov.za/index.php/resource-center/rad-reports/tt-ip-survey”
