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Our Aim : To Promote Technological Innovation

The Innovation Fund believes in the inventiveness of South Africans and their ability to invent technologies to help solve every day problems.

By offering start-up capital and ensuring the finalisation of research and development, Intellectual Property protection and commercialisation of novel and inventive ideas, the Innovation Fund aims to aid the establishment of new enterprises as well as the expansion of existing industrial sectors throughout South Africa.

Returns on Business Finance from the Innovation Fund

The team at the Innovation Fund assesses all the potential outcomes on a per application basis. Where wealth is created through the exploitation of the technology, the Innovation Fund will expect a modest but fair share to ultimately ease the burden of future start-up capital needing to be sourced from the taxpayer. The team at the Innovation Fun tailors each returns structure to be appropriate to each individual investment and varies from royalties to equity, convertible loans or combinations thereof.

Special Conditions of Funding

The Innovation Fund attaches certain special conditions and guidelines to its investments to increase alignment of the outcomes with national benefit. For instance:

  • Funding is typically only for use by South African registered entities and their lawful employees. International partners in a technology development are welcome provided they fund their own activities.
  • Where the Innovation Fund receives equity in a company in return for investment or start-up capital, it requires a preferential right to sell the equity to BEE investors without invoking pre-emptive rights of other shareholders.
  • Innovation Fund approval is required for any potential sales or licensing of Intellectual Property developed using venture capital sources that effectively result in an exclusive license to or ownership by, an offshore entity. Any approval will be in accordance with prevailing government legislation.

Find out more about what to do if you have an idea for an invention.