The Innovation Hub has completed the first phase of the SmartCity project by training 20 unemployed graduates to become hi-tech entrepreneurs for the City of Tshwane.
One of the aims for the SmartCity project is to establish a company that will use SMS technology to allow the Tshwane municipality to deliver messaging services and billing alerts to its customers. The project is a joint initiative by the Youth Development Trust, The Innovation Hub and the Tshwane Municipal Council.
The first group was trained in life skills, entrepreneurship and introductory training on SMS technology.
"During the first phase of the project, the SmartCity students organised a community outreach project and secured sponsorship worth R150 000 from BMW in Rosslyn to run workshops for high school students from townships in and around Pretoria," says Jeanette Morwane, corporate affairs assistant at The Innovation Hub.
The second phase of the SmartCity project will start next week, and involves the selection of five students from the trained group to establish a new SmartCity company under the pre-incubation programme at The Innovation Hub's Business Incubator.
"Negotiations with a Finnish company, which will offer technical support to the start-up company, have been completed and the first training by the Finnish experts will start in September," says Morwane.
The SmartCity project participants have negotiated with several departments within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality to offer them business for the start-up company.
Khanyisa Real Systems will provide the technology support for the project, while USAID will supply the funding.
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