The NCIC is a national program across South Africa’s nine provinces identifying critical problems in each region that, if solved, would significantly accelerate South Africa’s transition to carbon neutrality.
PROGRAM Summary
The South Africa National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) is the South African implementation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Global Just Transition to the Future (JTF) program, a series of technology challenges in various regions of the world aimed at encouraging cleantech entrepreneurs to propose innovative solutions. The NCIC is a national program across South Africa’s nine provinces identifying critical problems in each region that, if solved, would significantly accelerate South Africa’s transition to carbon neutrality. The NCIC will then launch a comprehensive outreach program appealing to South African entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and scientists to offer their solutions. The “best” solutions will be offered a range of prizes, including the chance to pilot their inventions.
Objectives and Outcomes
This program aims to stimulate innovations that reduce GHGs across South Africa, thus speeding South Africa’s transition to a reduced-carbon future and accelerating the growth of its green economy. As such, the NCIC seeks to engage with entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, and corporate leaders to accelerate South Africa’s embrace of sustainable technologies. Moreover, the NCIC will encourage innovations that are developed by women and other underserved populations. Ultimately, the NCIC seeks to be a key strategy in South Africa’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s effort to make the country more sustainable.
A Global, National and Local Partnership
The South Africa National Cleantech Innovation Challenge represents a partnership among UNIDO (Global Administrator and Marketing Partner), the Network for Global Innovation (Global Implementation Partner), the Technology Innovation Agency (National Implementation Partner), regional innovation hubs and Tech Stations supported by TIA (Local Implementation Partners), national/regional corporates (Technology/Marketing Partners), and funding sources (Funding Partners).
About TIA
The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is an entity of the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation. TIA promotes the development and exploitation of discoveries, inventions, and innovations to improve the quality of life for all South Africans by bridging the innovation chasm between research and commercialisation.
The object of TIA is to support the State in stimulating and intensifying technological innovation to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans by developing and exploiting technological innovations.
TIA’s focus is on technology development; from proof of concept to pre commercialisation. To achieve this, TIA established the following funds: the Seed Fund, the Technology Development Fund, and the Commercialisation Support Fund.
About The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI)
The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) is a South African government agency that boosts socio-economic development through science, technology, and innovation (STI). Its vision is “increased well-being and prosperity through science, technology, and innovation” and its mission is to provide leadership, an enabling environment, and resources to support South Africa’s development. DSTI supports research and development (R&D) in strategic areas including energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and environmental sustainability. Cleantech falls under this umbrella, with a focus on technologies that reduce environmental impact and promote sustainable development.
DSTI also works on strengthening the policy and institutional frameworks that support cleantech innovation, ensuring alignment with climate action and sustainable development goals.
The department fosters partnerships with other government departments, industry, and communities to implement S&T-based interventions that address national development priorities, including clean technology adoption.
TIA, is the entity of DSTI that implements these policies to stimulate and intensify technological innovation, and bridge the gap between research and commercialization.
About NGIN
NGIN is the only global commercialization ecosystem focused on reducing the friction that slows the flow of innovation into markets that will embrace them and benefit from their adoption. NGIN connects the cleantech entrepreneurial ecosystem with the world to collaborate, no matter where in the world they reside.
NGIN is a global membership organization of high-performing innovation institutions committed to sustainable technology commercialization and entrepreneurial growth. NGIN enables its members to accelerate cleantech commercialization and global market creation.
Bridging the Innovation Gap
The Innovation Gap is global phenomenon that slows deployment of clean technologies. While the world’s leaders are committing billions in support of solutions aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, investments go under-utilized without the mechanisms to connect technologies with partners to deploy them into markets of greatest need.
NGIN was created to speed this process by connecting the incubators and innovation centers developing these solutions with a world ready to deploy. NGIN connects innovators, entrepreneurs and investors with customers, policy makers, and other ecosystem stakeholders across the network.
About The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and GCIP
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations with a unique mandate to promote, dynamize and accelerate industrial development. The guiding principle of UNIDO’s activities is low-emission, climate-resilient development. This means promoting policies, technologies and practices so that countries can take climate action and create millions of new, decent jobs. UNIDO sees innovation as key to mitigating and adapting to climate change. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the economy and generate a large share of economic value. Given the scale of climate mitigation and adaptation action needed, it is critical that MSMEs are supported to be part of the solutions, be it as entrepreneurs, in the context of small-scale industries and clusters or through their participation in regional and global value chains. The Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP) of UNIDO, supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aims to address the growing global demand for environmental sustainability and climate action by harnessing the potential of cleantech innovation and entrepreneurship. Through GCIP’s theory of change, the programme seeks to empower innovative cleantech startups and MSMEs to make substantial contributions to climate mitigation. The goal is to achieve low-carbon development and stimulate job creation in priority sectors and systems.