Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies this week relaunched the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII), which assists enterprises through the promotion of technology development and the provision of financial assistance for the development of innovative products and processes.

Addressing delegates at the Innovation Summit, in Cape Town, through a video link, the Minister said the programme had been transferred from the Industrial Development Corporation and would be administered by the Incentive Development and Administration division of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The SPII was one of the support instruments developed to give effect to the DTI’s work through the Industrial Policy Action Plan and supported small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), as well as large enterprises.

“The intention of SPII is to promote the development of technologically innovative products or processes that are commercially viable and internationally competitive, thus rendering the [local] Industry competitive. Our biggest challenge is to get these industrial innovations to be commercial products,” said Davies.

He highlighted that, with SPII, the DTI would be able to assist in developing the entrepreneurial mindset and functional skillsets to enable innovators to create and launch their technology ventures.

Davies explained that the programme was based on a matching grant principle, which had succeeded in leveraging funding from the private sector, increasing investment in technology development, diffusion and commercialisation.

The programme was divided into three support schemes, the first of which was the product process development scheme – a nonrepayable grant focusing on SMMEs and capped at R2-million.

The second was a matching scheme, which provided a nontaxable, nonrepayable grant of between 50% and 75% of qualifying costs and which was capped at R5-million.

Lastly, the conditionally repayable partnership scheme – a nontaxable and conditionally repayable grant of 50% of qualifying costs, provided for minimum grants of R10-million.

DTI deputy director-general of the incentive development and administrative division Malebo Mabitje-Thompson said the department would continue to collaborate with the departments of Science and Technology and its agencies, Basic Education and Higher Education and Training to ensure that support was provided for innovative enterprises.

She added that the DTI would also ensure that it uses its export promotion schemes to try and expose such products to international markets.