Johannesburg, 07 Aug 2003
At a breakfast held at its premises on the CSIR Campus in Pretoria, technology and business incubator Softstart today announced the launch of its phase two incubator on 25 July 2003.
The launch follows the dramatic success of Softstart's phase one incubator since its start in August 2002. CEO Ben Zaaiman explains: "The response to phase one was hugely positive, and the uptake far more rapid than expected. This resulted in the incubator being filled with nine high-potential, young businesses 15 months ahead of projections, and necessitated the fast-tracking of phase two, which brings us to the launch of a new phase of an exciting future."
No doubt that future will be as bright as those of the many start-up businesses whose success Softstart has been instrumental in. Indeed, closer inspection of these start-ups reveals several textbook case studies of how incubation can assist in the creation of optimal, sustainable businesses. One such example is 2Big Mobile Applications, whose cellphone technology is revolutionising the policing methods of the Johannesburg Metro Police.
Softstart, whose business involves assisting high potential, early stage software entrepreneurs to develop and grow sustainable businesses, is part of the pilot phase of an incubator programme of the GODISA Trust, of the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry. Its founder partners include the CSIR, University of Pretoria and Technikon Pretoria and it enjoys the financial support of the European Union and the South African government.
Prof Jan Eloff, Head of Department Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, says his department is proud to be associated with Softstart as a member of its board of trustees and via the provision of strategic input for maximising the potential of young technology entrepreneurs in SA.
He adds: "Computer science graduates from our department form part of a burgeoning entrepreneurial IT environment, not only in SA but also internationally. Softstart provides excellent business plan development and mentoring skills which enable our students to become IT executives and entrepreneurs in their own right."
According to Eloff, his department has grown steadily in the past few years and now has 1 300-plus students, with 140 students participating in the popular honours programme in Computer Science. He says it is from this group that the university encourages promising computer scientists to pursue the opportunities available to them at Softstart.
Equally generous in his praise of Softstart, is Prof Peter van Eldik, Strategic Information and Planning and a member of the executive management committee of Technikon Pretoria, who describes the technikon as being "very proud to be a founder partner of this software technology incubator".
Says Van Eldik: "We believe that institutions like ours have a major role to play in establishing a culture of innovation and technology transfer - among the new generation of leaders emerging from the higher education system - which is vital to stimulate the economic growth and development of our country and the region. This is why we are so excited to participate in Softstart. It enables our staff and students to obtain support for the development of their innovative concepts or prototype products, business plans, marketing strategies and to obtain financial support, in order to get their products to market."
He says he would like to see Softstart grow tenfold in the next few years, producing sustainable businesses that are equipped to take advantage of the abundant ICT opportunities in the southern African region.
"Venture coaching, through all the stages of the innovation process, is of key importance in supporting this developing industry and sector, and Softstart's success over the past year has proven that it is spot-on in fulfilling this need. The incubator has a vital role to play and the partners must continue working together to ensure that this tremendous growth continues."
Says Laurens Cloete, Softstart Chairman and CSIR icomtek Programme Manager, who delivered the welcome address at the launch: "As one of Softstart's founding partners, CSIR is proud of the incubator's achievements thus far. Technology incubation is an important aspect in bridging the innovation chasm, as identified by the Department of Science and Technology in the National R&D Strategy. The nurturing environment that Softstart provides, especially to entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, is key to stimulating indigenous technological innovation, to the creation of a knowledge economy in SA and to creating an ICT industry that is representative of the demographic make-up of our country."
Cloete says initial results indicate that incubators like Softstart can indeed contribute to the creation of new and successful technology-based ventures, and that the department and the European Union may be applauded for their foresight in this area.
He continues: "Association with research and tertiary education institutions is an important factor in the success of technology focused incubators. In this regard, CSIR will be contributing its scientific and technological expertise to Softstart and its entrepreneurs in areas such as software engineering, open source software, mobile and wireless applications, human language technologies and bioinformatics. This will also extend to the development of ICT solutions in various other areas in which CSIR has domain expertise such as environmental sciences, mining, transport and biotechnology.
"I am confident of Softstart's continued success and we look forward to seeing it grow into a substantial institution and replicating its excellent results, thereby significantly contributing to the creation of indigenous technology-based ventures in SA."
Softstart's Zaaiman concludes: "We look forward to rising to the challenges of phase two, as we build upon the past year's successes and are especially grateful to our stakeholders and partners, whose vision and support have enabled us to get this far. That is, to a stage where we are able to make a meaningful contribution to the economic growth of SA, via our delivery into the marketplace of successful entrepreneurs at the helm of sustainable businesses."
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