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14 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme launch 2024
Staff members from the Directorate Research Development (DRD) at the University of the Free State; Palesa Mgaga, second from right, Tebogo Machethe, centre, and Charelise van Staden, second from right, were thanked for hosting the launch of the Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme. They are pictured with colleagues from the IDC’s Samkelisiwe Mtsewu, left, and Thato Mogopodi, far right.

The University of the Free State (UFS), represented by the Directorate Research Development (DRD), played host to the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for the launch of its Khoebo Innovation Promotion Programme (KIPP).

The launch took place on 5 November in the Sasol Library on the Bloemfontein Campus. Tebogo Machethe, Director: Research Contracts and Innovation at the DRD, said its role was to expose the university researchers to different opportunities and programmes for funding from the IDC and the dtic. It also allowed the researchers to engage potential funders in order to understand what funders look for in a project when considering funding it.

“The aim of IDC KIPP is to assist local entrepreneurs and small to medium enterprises with commercialisation funding. The KIPP offers capital and business support to SMMEs during the early stages of commercialisation with particular emphasis on township and rural entrepreneurs,” said Machethe.

Address uneven distribution of economic development

KIPP is a dtic programme but is managed by the IDC and aims to enable early-stage innovative SMEs to penetrate the market with their locally developed innovations, resulting in a more competitive economic environment and thereby facilitating economic growth in the economy.

According to Machethe, who welcomed the guests, participants and presenters to the launch, some of the funding is geared towards the development of university innovations. Though the focus was on the KIPP launch, he continued, the discussions also encompassed other forms of funding that are available and more geared towards the university innovation.

His address was centred around the university's Vision 130 and how it supports innovation and the entire innovation ecosystem, which seeks to shift the emphasis to research impact, embracing both knowledge and societal impact. Vision 130 identifies the need for a greater focus on collaborative research, research that can attract large-scale funding in niche areas where the university is seen as a national and global leader.

Samkelisiwe Mtsewu, KIPP Account Manager at the IDC, said the programme was introduced to address the uneven distribution of economic development across the country. She said with its capacity, the KIPP programme can contribute to addressing the uneven distribution of economic development. 

News Archive

Wayde keeps winning off the track
2016-11-24

Description: 'Accolades Wayde Tags: Accolades Wayde

Wayde van Niekerk won an accolade as the
best male athlete at the Olympic Games in
Rio de Janeiro. He received the award at the
Association of National Olympic Committees
awards.
Photo: Johan Roux.

Although Wayde van Niekerk hasn’t competed in several months, the golden boy still keeps winning off the track. The 400 m Olympic champion has been shining ever since his feat at the Olympic Games, with awards such as the best male athlete in Rio de Janeiro.

Nominated for IAAF and SA Sports Awards

He is also a finalist for the 2016 IAAF World Athlete of the Year and has been nominated for three awards (Sport Star of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, and the People’s Choice Award) at the South African Sports Awards. The IAAF winner will be announced on 2 December 2016 in Monaco and the SA Sports Awards take place on 27 November 2016 in Bloemfontein.

The athlete from the University of the Free State is one of six nominees – three male and three female – for the IAAF award. The high jumper Hestrie Cloete (2003) is the only South African who has won this award.

Van Niekerk won all three above-mentioned awards at the SA Sports Awards in 2015. Tannie Ans Botha, his coach, is nominated as Coach of the Year.

Accolades keep rolling in for Kovsie star

Van Niekerk’s performance in Rio, where he won the 400 m in a world-record time of 43,03 seconds, resulted in him being chosen as the best male athlete at the Association of National Olympic Committees awards on 15 November 2016 in Doha, Qatar.

The 24-year-old Kovsie has also received numerous other accolades in 2016. He was KovsieSport’s Sportsman of the Year for a fourth consecutive year and received an Ambassador’s Award at the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards. Botha was given an Executive Management Award at the same function.

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