Business and technology incubator, SoftstartBTI has issued a reminder to stakeholders and interested parties that they can still register for the third Tertiary Education Satellite Incubation Programme (TESIP) Workshop on 23 and 24 April 2007.
Taking place at the Durban University of Technology, the focus of the workshop will be on showcasing the benefits and potential of the satellite incubation model developed by SoftstartBTI.
"We have deliberately timed the third TESIP Workshop to coincide with the official launch of the SoftstartBTI satellite incubator at the Durban University of Technology so that stakeholders will be able to see how the model works first hand," confirms Leon Lourens, CEO of SoftstartBTI. "It is an important milestone for the programme and illustrates perfectly that TESIP has reached the implementation stage."
The culmination of two years of innovative debate and discussion, the TESIP model for satellite incubation is a totally unique approach tailored to cope with the different skill sets, large geographical areas and severe funding shortages that are indicative of the wider African incubation landscape.
"Ratified at the previous TESIP workshop in October last year, the model suits the challenges of the South African environment in a way the international theories and models don't," explains Lourens, "and allows us to replicate incubation facilities in every tertiary institution and town in spite of our limited resources."
Lourens is keen to emphasise that the model is not just an innovative theory and that it has been thoroughly tried and tested. "The model has been successfully piloted, tested and refined," he affirms, "and the stakeholders involved, like the universities, have assessed it and agreed that it will work for them. So now it is a case of building on our current momentum and asking everyone to join in and make it work."
Although the Midrand-based incubator has been the driving force behind the model and responsible for most of its development and testing to date, Lourens is adamant this is not just a SoftstartBTI initiative. "The TESIP model will only really come to fruition by including all the other incubators," he maintains. "The goal is to roll the TESIP programme out nationally so promising entrepreneurs can link into incubators and tertiary institutions from anywhere in the country. This is the only way to really tackle the resource constraints we face."
In recognition of the benefits of harnessing innovation at universities and the potential of the new TESIP model, the SEDA Technology Programme has offered to sponsor bi-annual workshops and help the programme build on the momentum it is starting to gather.
"We are very excited about SEDA's positive support for the initiative because it will help us get our message out around the country at this crucial stage," observes Lourens. "Our next event will be in Cape Town in October and any representatives from the tertiary institutions, the incubation community or the private sector that are unable to attend the event in Durban this month should pre-register for it."
To find out more about the workshop, register for the event or to find out more about TESIP in general, contact either Abby Naicker (abby@sbti.co.za), Projects Officer at SoftstartBTI or Leon Lourens on (011) 695 4800.
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SoftstartBTI is a real estate and networked technology incubator focused on the needs of early phase entrepreneurs in the ICT market. The incubator receives financial support from the Departments of Science and Technology, and Trade and Industry through the SEDA Technology Programme. SoftstartBTI supports hi-tech entrepreneurs in starting and growing their businesses by offering innovative products and services to the entrepreneurial community, backed by local and international partners and associates.
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