SOUTHSOUTH AND TRIANGULAR COOPERATION PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION SUPPORT

SOUTH-SOUTH AND TRIANGULAR COOPERATION PARTNERSHIPS FOR INNOVATION SUPPORT - Session 3 Mc. Lean Sibanda South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Access to Information and Knowledge, Innovation Support, and Technology Transfer Organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in cooperation with the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) of Peru Lima, Peru, May 5 and 6, 2015 1

Presentation Outline q Introduction q South African Innovation Support Systems q Specific Interventions / Partnerships § § § Bio. FISA / SANBIO IPA GAP-Biosciences q Concluding remarks 2

Introduction R&D – not primary source of innovation in Africa 3

Introduction Global Share of Research Capacity (2011) Creativity and Prosperity: Global Creativity Index, Martin Prosperity Institute, January 2011 available at http: //martinprosperity. org/2011/10/01/creativity-and-prosperity-the-global-creativity-index/ 4

Introduction Knowledge Generation: Patent Applications Per region 5

South Africa Innovation Support Systems Key Milestones 6

South Africa Innovation Support Systems The Funding Challenge 7

South Africa Innovation Support Systems Technology Stations as means for supporting prototyping q Tshumisano Trust, Department of Science and Technology q Strengthen and accelerate interaction between Universities of Technology and Small Medium Entreprises (SMEs) q Technology Stations Services: § § Technical support to SMEs – technology solutions, services and training Adaptations and prototypes 8

Supporting Innovation in Developing Countries Major Challenges q Poor pipeline: little or no local R&D investment, poor research capacity q Lack of enabling Intellectual Property Management Environment q Innovation Chasm § § § Funding Culture Skills q Funding § § Valley of death - proof of concept funding Risk capital / venture capital funding q Culture § § § Entrepreneurship - incubators, science parks, etc. Education system Failure q Skills: strengthening human capital § § R&D undertaking skills: exchange programmes (post-doctoral fellows, secondment of expert personnel, joint appointments, scholarship programmes, Joint supervision of post-graduate students) 9 Innovation enabling skills (IP Management, commercialisation, investment, etc. )

Specific Interventions: Bio. FISA / SANBio Finland–Southern Africa STI Network with focus on Biosciences … 1 q Overview § § Joint support programme of South Africa and Finland to New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and its SANBio network Support rollout of the SANBio business plan q Partners § § South Africa and Finland Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe q Objectives § § § Enable Southern Africa to harness and apply STI to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development Ensure that Southern Africa contributes to the global pool of scientific knowledge and technological innovations Bring new innovative bioscience-related products to the 10 market by capitalising on the expertise in the region

Specific Interventions: Bio. FISA / SANBio Finland–Southern Africa STI Network with focus on Biosciences … 2 q Implementation Modalities / Activities § § Joint support programme of South Africa and Finland to New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and its SANBio network Support rollout of the SANBio business plan q Timelines § 2009 – 2012 q Outcomes § § § R&D pilot projects: mushrooms (> 600 small-scale mushroom growers in Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland) , IKS, traditional medicines, bioinformatics, HIV with focus on microbicides, policy guidelines Member states biosciences strategies: Study visits, Intellectual Property Management and tech Transfer workshops; Project Management Office training sessions; quarterly newsletter; Brochures and banners Capacity: Fellowships for Training, small grants for equipment, increased R&D and Institutional linkages in the area of biosciences 11

Specific Interventions: Bio. FISA / SANBio Finland–Southern Africa STI Network with focus on Biosciences … 3 q Challenges § § § Insufficient resources (staffing of secretariat, additional rounds of funding) Maintaining focus on the collaborative Hub-Node network model Demonstration of value for money to funders and results to all stakeholders Member States buy-in had to be nurtured from scratch Technical and management capacity Ensuring inclusiveness of the network q Lessons Learnt § § § § Over-ambitious scope: time, resources and overall scope Stakeholder involvement: limited consultation and no stakeholder analysis NEPAD Visibility in SADC region: enhance in order to be successful Networking opportunities: nurture and strengthen the linkages Technology Transfer from developed countries to be nuanced Limited private sector involvement: Public, Private Partnerships (PPPs) should be encouraged Quarterly reporting found to be excessive Adequacy of resources: mostly directed at funding the 8 R&D pilot projects - not much emphasis on how to disseminate and replicate experiences (AATF a successful case study) 12

Specific Interventions: Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) African Solutions to African Problems by Africans … 1 q Overview § Annual innovation competition to identify, highlight and support African innovations q Partners § § Zurich-based African Innovation Foundation (AIF) Incubators and science parks in Africa q Objectives § § Promote and support African ingenuity Celebrate African innovations Support commercialisation of African innovations Promote a culture of innovation within the African continent 13

Specific Interventions: Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) African Solutions to African Problems by Africans … 2 q Implementation Modalities / Activities § § § Competition Workshops Awards event Media and PR campaigns Incubation through partners q Timelines § 2012 – 2015 (Cape Town, Abuja, Morocco) q Challenges § § § Spread of innovations Under-developed national innovation systems Lack of patient capital 14

Specific Interventions: Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) African Solutions to African Problems by Africans … 3 q Outcomes § § To date identified > 30 African innovations with commercialisation potential Some of these in market because of IPA q Next Steps / Outlook § Strengthening the network - national innovation systems § Broadening partnerships – The Innovation Hub (South Africa) (2013), Pfizer (2014), CNBC Africa (2014/15), WIPO (2015) 15

Specific Interventions: GAP-Biosciences Addressing the innovation chasm … 1 q Overview § Annual biosciences entrepreneurship support programme q Partners § § Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) The Innovation Hub (South Africa) Technology Innovation Agency (South Africa) Pfizer Inc. q Objectives § § § Business basics to researchers Develop innovation enabling skills Identify and support promising biosciences based ideas 16

Specific Interventions: GAP-Biosciences Addressing the innovation chasm … 2 q Implementation Modalities / Activities § § Year long entrepreneurial and business development support Executive Education Programme 4 month intensive mentorship to develop business plan Business Plan competition with prize money & incubation q Timelines § 2011 - 2015 q Challenges § § Adequacy of funding Investment ready R&D projects Monitoring and Evaluation of projects not under incubation Limited private sector support 17

Specific Interventions: GAP-Biosciences Addressing the innovation chasm … 3 q Outcomes “The industry knowledge we obtained during our time at Pfizer will definitely be of help to us as we pursue our goal to commercialise Altis’ technologies and products on a global scale. The networking opportunities and contacts we made are invaluable to us ……” (N Pires, Altis Biologics) “William Looney placed us in contact with Elana Robertson at the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development. A meeting with the Global Alliance was held on 18 September 2014. ” (MARTI TB Diagnostics team) 18

Concluding Remarks q Strengthening of innovation in South-South Collaborations § § Increase in global pool of knowledge Tapping into underutilised / nascent talent Increases economic activity and global wellbeing Ensures that developing countries lead in addressing own challenges q Genuine collaboration essential – all partners must gain q Priorities: § § STI human capital deficit (R&D and innovation enabling) Increased R&D investment Development oriented IP systems Relevant institutions and institutional frameworks (enabling systems of innovation) 19

Thank You 20