Nzimande calls for ELIDZ to drive innovation-led industrialisation in Eastern Cape

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Professor Blade Nzimande has called for the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) and its Science and Technology Park to play a greater role in driving industrial innovation, developing local suppliers and expanding economic opportunities in the Eastern Cape.

Speaking during a high-level visit to the industrial development zone, Nzimande said South Africa needed a stronger National System of Innovation that connects research, skills and technology with manufacturing and the everyday needs of communities.

He said Special Economic Zones (SEZs) should move beyond providing industrial land, infrastructure and investment incentives to become centres where researchers, training institutions, investors and manufacturers collaborate to develop new technologies and products.

“Special Economic Zones must be more than providers of land, infrastructure and incentives. They must become dynamic ecosystems where laboratories, incubators, training institutions, investors and manufacturers work together around shared industrial missions,” Nzimande said.

The minister said the performance of these zones should also be measured through their contribution to productivity, supplier development, patents, prototypes, new products, skills development and industrial competitiveness.

Push for coordinated innovation in Buffalo City

Nzimande reiterated his proposal to consolidate the existing regional innovation forum into a science, technology and innovation forum for Buffalo City.

The proposed forum would bring together institutions, identify local development challenges and connect them with relevant scientific and technical expertise. It would also support collaboration between science and technology parks and Special Economic Zones across the Eastern Cape.

The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, through entities such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Technology Innovation Agency, has supported several initiatives at the ELIDZ.

These include funding the feasibility study that led to the establishment of the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park, which was launched in 2014.

Between 2018 and 2023, the department provided R2.4 million to the East London Regional Innovation Networking Platform. The initiative reached 120 beneficiaries, including 17 technology-focused small, medium and micro enterprises.

Elements of the regional platform were subsequently incorporated into the partnership between the Technology Innovation Agency and the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park.

The department has also piloted a bio-entrepreneurship programme aimed at helping emerging businesses turn locally available hemp and cannabis biomass into higher-value biomaterials and biochemicals.

Automotive industry offers opportunities

Nzimande identified East London's established automotive industry as an opportunity to expand advanced manufacturing and develop capabilities in automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and digital production.

He said the transition towards electric and other new-energy vehicles, alongside the use of sustainable materials and circular manufacturing methods, could create opportunities for new products, services and enterprises.

Closer cooperation between automotive manufacturers, universities, public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, science councils, the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park and the Technology Innovation Agency would help local innovators participate in changing automotive value chains.

The minister also highlighted the Eastern Cape's ports, agricultural potential, renewable-energy opportunities, coastal resources, universities and youthful population as assets that could support a coordinated regional innovation ecosystem.

Small businesses and young innovators in focus

Nzimande said the benefits of innovation-led industrialisation should extend beyond the industrial development zone to townships, rural communities and surrounding towns.

He called for greater opportunities for small enterprises, women-owned businesses, young people and township and rural innovators to participate in industrial development.

“Innovation-led industrialisation must open opportunities for small enterprises, township and rural innovators, women-owned businesses and young people. The benefits must extend beyond the zone into Buffalo City, Mdantsane, surrounding towns and the wider provincial economy,” he said.

He also called for stronger technology transfer, business incubation, access to research infrastructure, supplier development and incentives that encourage innovation and the use of locally developed products.

Nzimande said the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park should help bridge the gap between research and commercial production by enabling innovators to develop prototypes, manufacture products and take local solutions to market.

“We must use the ELIDZ Science and Technology Park to move ideas into factories, prototypes into products and local solutions into markets,” he said.