Competition Terms and Conditions
The NIC SBP is the Innovation Fund's (IF) competition for technological innovations in the form of business plans by students registered at South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). What separates this competition from other similar enterprise / entrepreneurial competitions in South Africa is the following:
- NIC SBP is aimed at students and is focused on technological innovations.
- The prize money is phenomenal compared to other, similar competitions.
- The winning team will be considered for participation in similar competitions at international level where yet further exposure will enhance chances of recognition of the technological innovation by investors.
The National Research and Development Strategy stress the need for the IF to 'develop capacity to finance engineering and science students while still at university and to develop research concepts to prototype products'. The IF has determined via a Gap Analysis that young, budding entrepreneurs do not have an enabling environment and forum to display their innovative ideas and have access to opportunities to commercialise them.
Thus, this competition will ensure that high calibre technological innovations emanating from students at HEIs have the opportunity to be researched, developed, showcased and ultimately commercialised.
The Intellectual Property (IP) contained within the submitted business plans will be subject to the IP policy of the university from which the students originate. Students acknowledge that by submitting a business plan into the competition, they either own or have the necessary rights to such IP. The students therefore indemnify the Innovation Fund, its employees and agents of any loss, damages or liability resulting from any infringement on third party IP.