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Good practice Imported

The Innovation Hub — Tshwane Science and Technology Park

South Africa · Tshwane · See the South Africa profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 29% 76/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Africa’s first internationally accredited science and technology park, operating since 2001 in Tshwane. In FY2023/24 it created 389 jobs, supported 64 market-ready innovations and recorded R294M+ in exports from incubated companies.

389 jobs
Jobs created (FY2023/24)
64 innovations
Market-ready innovations (FY2023/24)
R294 million+ ZAR
Exports facilitated (FY2023/24)
67 applications
IP applications filed (FY2023/24)
R903 million ZAR (debt and equity)
Funding raised by portfolio company Wetility
114 livelihoods
Rural livelihoods created via moringa plantation cooperatives
The Innovation Hub — Tshwane Science and Technology Park

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
The Innovation Hub Management Company (TIHMC) / Gauteng Growth and Development Agency
Period
2001–present
Keywords
innovation, incubation, science park, technology, economic development

Context

The Innovation Hub is South Africa's flagship science and technology park, operated by the Innovation Hub Management Company (TIHMC) as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) since 2001. It was the first science park in Africa to gain full membership of the International Association of Science Parks.

Objectives

The hub aims to grow South Africa's knowledge economy by incubating enterprises across ICT, bioeconomy, green technology and township-based micro-innovation, moving ideas from early concept through to market-ready products.

Activities

Five programmes operate in parallel: the Maxum Business Incubator for ICT and advanced-manufacturing enterprises; the BioPark Incubator for bioeconomy, agro-processing and pharmaceuticals; the Climate Innovation Centre for green-economy startups; eKasiLabs, which embeds micro-innovation hubs in five township economic corridors; and a Product Development Lab that takes concepts to market. The hub also runs the 15-year-old GATE Innovation Competition and a 76-hectare moringa plantation operated through three cooperatives.

Results

In FY2023/24 the hub reported 389 jobs created, 64 market-ready innovations, exports exceeding R294 million and 67 intellectual-property applications filed by incubated companies. Portfolio company Wetility raised R903 million in debt and equity, and the moringa plantation created 114 additional rural livelihoods.

Conclusions

The Innovation Hub demonstrates a durable, diversified science-park model spanning urban technology incubation to rural agribusiness cooperatives, sustained by more than two decades of continuous public-agency backing; the figures cited are self-reported annual performance data rather than an independently verified impact evaluation.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Multi-programme science park spanning a 76-hectare campus plus satellite township labs, operated as a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency; no single consolidated budget figure is stated in the source content.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Continuous operation since 2001 (23+ years) under successive government-approved annual performance plans running through at least 2026.
Staffing & skills
Innovation Hub Management Company (TIHMC) staff operating five incubation/support programmes, Partnerships with CSIR and the University of Pretoria

Conditions for success

  • Stable institutional backing as a wholly owned GGDA subsidiary since 2001
  • International Association of Science Parks accreditation signalling benchmark quality
  • Diversified programme portfolio spanning ICT, bioeconomy, green tech and township incubation
  • eKasiLabs extends incubation into five township economic corridors, widening the pipeline of participants

Where it fits

Governance type
provincial government agency subsidiary
Scale
regional/provincial
Income level
upper-middle-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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