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Innovative tech SMEs coin it after agency turnaround

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 01 Dec 2016
TIA CEO Barlow Manilal aims to make the agency a premier custodian of technology innovation in SA.
TIA CEO Barlow Manilal aims to make the agency a premier custodian of technology innovation in SA.

This financial year, the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) funded 2 197 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), up from the 1 904 small businesses that received funding in the 2013/14 year.

This was revealed in TIA's 2015/2016 annual report, which says the agency made significant progress this past financial year, and also received a clean audit.

According to TIA, knowledge innovation products increased from 27 in the 2013/14 financial year, to 76 in 2015/16. In addition, 52 youth products received support, while seed fund projects increased from 70 in 2013/14 to 275 in the past financial year.

TIA is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, mandated to invest and support innovators, entrepreneurs and SMEs to commercialise their technology innovations.

However, the innovation entity has had an eventful couple of years, dogged by scandals relating to maladministration, incompetence, instability and job uncertainties, among others.

Despite this, the agency is upbeat about the future and says 2015/16 may best be described as a year of consolidation, transition and positive long-range planning for TIA.

Commenting on the annual report, chairperson of the board Kungeka Njobe says: "The period under review saw the appointment of our new CEO, Barlow Manilal, who officially assumed his role on 1 April 2015...Considering Mr Manilal's exceptional track record in leadership, management and governance, the board feels confident that TIA is finally poised to successfully lead the technology and innovation sector."

Man for the job

Having assumed office earlier this year, Manilal is sticking to his vow to steady the ship and boost staff morale, a promise he made at the time of his appointment.

Manilal's turnaround strategy has positively repositioned the agency and the CEO plans to continue moving the agency forward.

He explains: "I embarked on my 2015/16 journey with restlessness and discontent but thankfully buoyed by the enormous potential of the organisation and the abundance of unexploited talent to drive it forward.

"My past experience and predisposition for structure, efficiencies and impact immediately went into overdrive as I activated my six Ps interventionist approach: people, process, product, purpose, pride and passion."

Manilal adds: "The restructuring process which commenced during 2014/15 financial year had to be concluded within the year under review and this had taken its toll on the organisation, and only stability, enhanced levels of trust and ethical leadership could resolve this."

"Greater organisational effectiveness, enhanced value creation, improved staff engagement, significant improvement in staff morale and embedding the new structure were all essential to entrenching a culture of high performance, a mandatory component of ultimately making excellence an attitude."

In the next five years, Manilal wants TIA to be considered as a premier custodian of the innovation and technology agenda in the country.

On the right track

Richard Hurst, director of enterprise research at Africa Analysis, applauds government for taking the development of technology-based SMEs seriously and increasing funding of these entities.

"The development of these SMEs is a vital part of the overall development of ICT in the country as it serves to retain and develop our IP, while allowing us to compete and export ICT products and service."

He explains: "It should be noted that SA is competing with the rest of the world for the attention of these tech-based SMEs, with countries such as the UK and Canada as well as cities such as Berlin developing their own government-driven tech start-up incubators, but these agencies go beyond simple support and offer a range of other services to attract the SMEs to their respective shores.

"To begin attracting technology-based skills, the South African government will need to look at assistance in terms of creating a local company, work permits and immigration to set up an initial pool of IT skills."

The TIA is doing vital work. Much more is needed but all players in the tech value chain need to co-ordinate their efforts, says Hurst.

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