The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) has welcomed new board members following their appointment by higher education, science and innovation minister Dr Blade Nzimande.
The eight-member board will be chaired by Matsi Modise, vice-chairperson of SiMODiSA and founding CEO of Furaha Afrika Holdings, a Pan-African organisation aiming to enable and leverage growth across Africa’s start-up landscape.
Other board members include TIA acting CEO Patrick Krappie, Dr Revel Iyer, Anati Canca and Lindiwe Matlali, as well as returning members Butana Mboniswa, Thabiso Ramasike and Sebenzile Matsebula.
The board’s appointment follows the expiration of the term of the previous board, says a statement.
The TIA says the board plays a pivotal oversight role, helping to guide the agency’s strategic direction. The new board brings with it a wealth of experience and expertise from various areas in the innovation ecosystem, including venture capital, techno-entrepreneurship, intellectual property management, technology transfer and governance know-how, it states.
“I would like to thank the outgoing board for their vision, commitment and dedication in ensuring TIA delivers on its mandate. We wish them well for the future,” says Krappie.
“The new board comes at an exciting, yet challenging, time for the National System of Innovation, where the agency is increasingly being called upon to find ways to maximise impact as it executes its mandate of technology innovation and commercialisation.”
An agency of the Department of Science and Innovation, the TIA was established in terms of the TIA Act, 2008.
It serves as the key institutional intervention to bridge the innovation gap between research and development from higher education institutions, science councils, the public and private sectors, and commercialisation.
Furthermore, its main mandate is to invest in and support innovators, entrepreneurs and SMEs to commercialise their technology innovations. The agency also has programmes that provide non-financial support to innovators and small, medium and micro enterprises.
Krappie says he looks forward to working with the new members to ensure TIA continues to deliver on its mandate, in response to key government policy priorities.
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