The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) says it has made “significant progress” in technology commercialisation through its special-purpose tech entity, CSIR C3.
The announcement was made during the release of the CSIR’s 2024/25 annual financial report.
The CSIR says it signed 12 new licence commercialisation agreements with industry partners during the reporting period.
It adds that the establishment of CSIR C3 has accelerated efforts to translate intellectual property (IP) into impact.
“Key technologies such as MycoSure, Stratafy and Herbathone have advanced closer to market readiness through strategic collaborations. The CSIR’s portfolio of licence agreements and technology demonstrators reflect a maturing innovation pipeline.”
Pronounced as CSIR ‘C-cubed’, the enterprise unit was introduced two years ago, with the aim to accelerate the pace and scale of the commercialisation of the organisation’s technologies and IP.
The standalone entity holds all CSIR IP and acts as an incubator for start-up enterprises, underpinned by technical and non-financial support.
The CSIR notes that in 2024/25, it achieved 29 of its 31 (94%) key performance indicators, with a 22% increase in projects for government and state-owned entities compared to 2023/24.
The organisation saw an 11% increase in localised technologies, while joint technology development agreements with industry resulted in a 17% rise, with a further 3% increase in support of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
CSIR board chairpersonand business executive Vuyani Jarana comments: “The CSIR has enhanced its support to SMMEs, expanded international partnerships and deepened its commercialisation efforts through CSIR C3. These initiatives position the organisation well to translate research into real-world solutions that advance industrial development.”
Financial gains
The research organisation posted a net profit of R40.62 million for the period under review. This means the CSIR exceeded the targeted loss of R67.6 million by R108.22 million, explains CEO Dr Thulani Dlamini.
It further represents an increase of R4.15 million compared to the net profit recorded for the previous financial year, which Dlamini says demonstrates an improvement in the CSIR’s financial performance.
Income from the local public sector accounted for 64% of total revenue, exceeding the target of 58% by 6%.
Private sector income grew by 7% to R244.57 million, with international income growing by 10% and totalling R356.22 million.
Both contributions were one percentage point below their respective targets, according to Dlamini. “In the sixth year since the launch of our 2019/20 strategy, we have remained committed to amplifying the ‘I’ in CSIR through research, development and innovation that meet national needs while remaining true to our EPIC values and deepening our research capabilities.
“Our strategic intent of growth, sustainability, impact and relevance has continued to shape our decisions and drive our performance.”
Jarana adds: “While the board is encouraged by the CSIR’s resilience and achievements, we are mindful of the persistent challenges facing the broader research and development environment. A sustained decline in public funding, rising input costs and global uncertainties continue to exert pressure on innovation institutions.
“It is imperative that research and development are recognised not as a cost but as a long-term investment in national development and competitiveness.”
With over 2 000 employees, the CSIR is considered to be one of the leading scientific and technology research, development and implementation organisations in Africa.
Its staff contingent is made up of scientists, engineers, researchers, innovators and technologists.
According to Dlamini, the organisation invested over R11 million in training CSIR staff, during the reporting period.
“Our staff has grown to 2 298, with science, engineering and technology (SET) staff making up 70% of the total. We are proud to report continued transformation, with 73% of SET staff being black South Africans and 40% female.
“Through targeted initiatives such as the accelerated researcher development programme and our staff dependants’ bursary scheme, we continue to invest in the development of a representative and future-ready workforce.”
The research development and innovation entity notes it also maintained its level one broad-based black economic empowerment rating. Furthermore, the organisation received a clean audit opinion from the Auditor-General of SA, making it 15 years in a row.
“Our strategy has yielded significant results in forging deeper partnerships with industry, government and higher education institutions. For the reporting year, our collaboration with public sector entities reached its highest level since 2019,” explains Dlamini.
“Projects ranged from predictive models for the national and provincial elections, to frameworks for transforming taxi ranks into economic hubs, and environmental assessments that support the green hydrogen economy. These initiatives illustrate the breadth of our capabilities and the alignment of our work with national priorities.
“Similarly, our work with the private sector has shown significant growth, illustrating a closer alignment of our capabilities with the needs of industry, a key component of our current strategy.
“We are building an organisation that not only delivers world-class science and technology, but also contributes meaningfully to South Africa’s industrial and societal transformation.”
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