The Eastern Cape is brimming with untapped potential for innovation-driven economic growth, but challenges such as business closures, job losses, and bureaucratic hurdles continue to hold the province back.
Business stakeholders gathered at the Sunrise Hotel on Friday, in a meeting hosted by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the department of science, technology and innovation, to explore ways to harness local assets — from ports and renewable energy to intellectual capital — to drive job creation and economic reinvention.
TIA GM for strategic partnership, business development and stakeholder relations, Tandokazi Nquma-Moyo, said the agency was established to assist the state to stimulate innovation.
“We are at a time in this province where there are plans to close business operations which are considered to be at risk because of the global restructuring,” Nquma-Moyo said.
“These are the problems we face as a country — the actual closure of big businesses which has resulted in job losses due to geopolitical factors and the general decline in the automotive industry because of its competitiveness.”
Nquma-Moyo said while the province was reeling from the effect of geopolitics, it had the potential to grow its economy through the various innovations that still needed to be established.
“We have three commercial seaports, including a deepwater port, where the province is upgrading infrastructure to maximise import capacity.
“We are also partnering with the local business chamber — a move that will allow us to work with industry together to deal with the challenges faced.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber president Kelvin Naidoo said they had established a local economy reinvention think-tank which looked at what opportunities there were for the economy to grow.
“We are looking at the assets we have, such as the sun, wind and our three ports while we also have TIA and the intellectual capacity of the province.”
Naidoo said they were looking at how to redefine the assets to be able to deliver the growth objectives needed.
“The concept of reinvention stems from innovation; there’s tremendous room for collaboration.
“It’s unfortunate that businesses such as Goodyear had to close down.
“But through re-establishing ourselves, we have great potential.
“But we’ve got to fix the basics.
“We need an enabling environment and to ensure security.
“We need an end to crime and other problems including red tape, which is another issue that affects business.
“We have a lot of untapped potential, we have just got to drop these anchors holding us back so that business thrives.
“Innovation is about doing something different and better.
“Some of the ideas presented here, no-one else in the world is thinking about, and that’s where our potential lies.
“As we are based in Africa, we can customise these ideas to fit the African paradigm.”
The Herald
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