As South Africa moves towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) entrepreneurs now have a space to develop their solutions which will take the country forward. According to Naomi Musi, CEO of 4IRI “the incubator gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop capability and capacity in the digital learning industry”. The incubator works with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Russian Trade Council, Small Enterprise Development Agency Seda and private businesses in the technological space.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Incubator (4IRI) unique office space provides entrepreneurs with access to hot desks, boardrooms, fast uncapped fibre connectivity, business development programmes, facilitation of access to funding and exposes them to industry experts. The unique space is aimed at helping entrepreneurs maximize opportunities in the technological development space.
Entrepreneurs who are interested in using the incubator must meet a set of requirements. These include being technology-based, offering solutions and being ready to expand. They must have a sound business case and their solutions or products must have the potential to uplift society.
Makhosonke Kwaza owns Thusong Technologies and also works from the incubator’s offices in Melrose, Johannesburg. His company develops solutions for learners to practically understand scientific and technological concepts by developing models which they can interact with.“I also design education interactive exhibits, which are basically models that are used by science and training centres,” said Kwaza.
In partnership with Innovative Telecommunications, Thusong Technologies has designed a product called Share AR, which converts from a normal office boardroom table into an interactive table with the click of a button. The incubator has helped with enough space to work on his inventions, as well as marketing his creations.
