Deputy Minister urges funders to end ‘silent rejections’ as SA launches inaugural Innovation Week

The Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, has called on government and industry funders to end the persistent practice of rejecting innovation funding applications without providing feedback.

Speaking in Johannesburg at the opening of South Africa’s first-ever Innovation Week, Dr Gina stressed that “silent rejections” undermine the country’s innovation pipeline and disproportionately affect start-ups that lack the resources to hire consultants to perfect submissions.

“Many start-ups rely on funders’ comments to refine and resubmit. When we reject applications without guidance, we shut down dreams and erase potential innovations. We must do better for our people,” said Dr. Gina, warning that the lack of guidance is excluding promising innovators and limiting South Africa’s innovation potential.

The inaugural South Africa Innovation Week (SAIW’26) is a flagship initiative of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).

Conceived as an annual apex platform, it aims to consolidate and strengthen South Africa’s historically fragmented innovation landscape and to highlight innovation as a practical tool to tackle the country’s persistent challenges of unemployment, inequality, and poverty.

SAIW’26 is designed as South Africa’s national innovation platform, a space that brings together the Quadruple Helix of academia, government, industry, and communities into one coordinated movement.

The national programme launched on Monday with activations across the country to promote collaboration, focused dialogue, and wider participation. At the NASREC exhibition, over 150 innovations and partners, including Enterprise Ireland, the Development Bank of South Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and university technology stations, are showcasing South Africa’s technological capabilities.

Dr Gina reiterated the need to close the gap between research and commercialisation, noting that South Africa does not suffer from a shortage of innovation, but from an insufficient translation of research outputs into market-ready products.

“Our challenge is not a lack of innovation. It is the insufficient translation of research outputs into market-ready products. We must close this gap through stronger partnerships with industry,” she noted.

TIA Board Chairperson, Mr Loyiso Tyira, said the agency had adopted a new strategy that positions TIA not only as a funder but as a curator of the National System of Innovation, ensuring innovators are supported throughout the value chain.

“This signals a clear commitment to advancing innovation as a national priority and enabling a more dynamic, inclusive innovation ecosystem. It creates a critical platform to strengthen collaboration across government, industry and academia, while accelerating the commercialisation of locally developed solutions and unlocking new pathways for economic growth and job creation,” said Tyira.

Highlighting South Africa’s scientific leadership, Professor Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), reflected on the country’s global impact during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

He noted that South Africa’s genomic contributions helped establish the mRNA hub, which has attracted over R2 billion to advance diagnostics and therapeutics. “That is the kind of success story that details how you go from basic science to the production of companies that provide health security.”

Over the next three days, government, academia, industry, grassroots innovators, and young entrepreneurs will participate in activities aimed at showcasing innovation capabilities, catalysing investment opportunities, and supporting the development of a future-ready workforce. Dr Gina encouraged young innovators to use the platform to build networks, refine their pitches, and better understand funder expectations.

ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

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