“TuksNovation is in line with UP’s 2025 vision of an entrepreneurial university,” says Centre Manager Phindile Tshabangu of the University’s business incubator, which has trained over 1 200 students in entrepreneurship and business skills. He tells us more.

Tell us about your qualifications and early career.

I am a chemical engineer and spent my early with petrochemical giant Sasol and as a development engineer for Afrox, Africa’s leading industrial gases company.

I then specialised in technology venture funding and development, having spent much of the past two decades in the business incubation industry. My experience transcends the private sector, and in the higher education environment, I had a stint at Innovus Technology Transfer, Stellenbosch University’s technology transfer company. I am also a gradute of UP’s Graduate School of Technology Management.  

Tell us about the role of TuksNovation.

TuksNovation is a vehicle to commercialise UP’s originating intellectual property by generating high-quality technology-based companies.

It has carved out a niche to support a new breed of entrepreneurs who have a high growth-oriented, socially conscious, global outlook. High-tech start-ups supported by TuksNovation specialise in fourth industrial revolution technologies by leveraging UP’s rich, diverse academic and business networks. In addition to research innovations, TuksNovation also supports some of the country’s brightest young minds to commercialise innovations that do not stem from academic research but that demonstrate strong market potential. We also provide specialist mentorship, access to a 3D lab printing facility and funding.

What value does TuksNovation add to UP’s brand/value proposition?

TuksNovation is in line with UP’s 2025 vision of an entrepreneurial university. There is a worldwide trend for universities to have a socio-economic impact by creating new enterprises from institute-developed technologies.

The UP brand will be greatly enhanced as TuksNovation’s services are rivalled only by a handful of university’s on the continent. Agile universities and their entities are renowned for focusing on the gap between the research and commercialisation stages, the two primary challenges being adequate seed funding (coupled with incubation) that can be flexible and timeously utilised as well as early stage investment capital (venture capital). TuksNovation’s mandate directly addresses this gap.

What is TuksNovation modelling itself on?

Through a handful of start-ups, some universities have proven that higher education institutions can become a hotbed of successful ventures. TuksNovation views itself as Africa’s response to the following:

• The University of Waterloo’s research in Motion/Blackberry – almost 60% of students claim that the early success of Blackberry was behind their motivation to enrol at Waterloo.
• Stanford University’s Google, the internet search engine, which began in 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were PhD students. The Wall Street Journal reported that after Google’s 2004 initial public offering, Stanford had shares valued at about $180 million.
• Oxford University’s Deepmind Technologies, a British artificial intelligence technology company and research laboratory founded in September 2010. It was acquired by Google in 2014 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, Google's parent company, in 2015.

Who is the incubator’s main target audience?

Tech start-up founders and entrepreneurs from within and outside UP who are seeking support to start new ventures or scale existing businesses; corporates seeking to partner with the incubator to contribute to entrepreneurship promotion and business formation as part of their enterprise and supplier development strategy; and government partnerships at national, provincial and local level to unlock economic growth and job creation.

What have some of TuksNovation’s highlights been since its launch?

TuksNovation’s supported businesses have generated more than R20 million in revenues collectively since its inception. And it has trained over 1 200 students in entrepreneurship and business skills.

Other highlights include launching the R2 million TuksNovation Seed Fund alongside partners UP, SEDA and the Technology Innovation Agency; partnering with the City of Tshwane and Tshwane-based institutions in the Tshwane Innovation Challenge; enabling TuksNovation-supported company Aviro Health raise more than R10 million in follow-on funding to scale the venture into the next phase of growth; and partnering with the French Embassy to establish a cross-acceleration programme that enables South African and French companies to have the same opportunities.

Please outline the roles of the various stakeholders.

Staff and students promote and participate in TuksNovation events/activities, while alumni provide linkages and networks in areas of influence. Stakeholders, which include current and potential funders, partner financially and in kind towards the long-term sustainability of TuksNovation.

Is TuksNovation an entity of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) – where is it on the UP structure?

TuksNovation originated from the EBIT Faculty but has grown to support all faculties. We are incorporated as a non-profit company (NPC) as per the Companies Act, and have public benefit organisation (PBO) status. The company is one of UP’s campus enterprises that are incorporated for a specific purpose.

We have an independent board of directors that consists of a cross-section of expertise from the University, government and the private sector. 

What is the vision for TuksNovation?

Our vision is to position TuksNovation as Africa’s premier high growth-oriented innovation accelerator and to become the breeding ground for Africa’s true unicorns [companies worth R1 billion or more]. We would like to see the ventures we support scale globally, attract investors, and create wealth for the founders and economic value for the country.

As for future plans, in March 2022, we are launching the UP Vice-Chancellor’s Entrepreneurship Challenge, an annual event led by the University and managed by TuksNovation. It aims to showcase entrepreneurial opportunities in Africa. The competition will be open to students, academics, researchers and entrepreneurs across Africa. We are also planning the incorporation of a R100 million early-stage venture capital fund backed by UP, and made possible through the generous partnership of the University Technology Fund and the South African SME Fund as well as a range of internal and external partners.

How can the UP community support the centre to achieve its goals?

The UP community is regarded as an integral part of the growth of TuksNovation. We view members of the UP community as ambassadors of the UP brand and, by extension, of campus enterprises such as TuksNovation. We have established a specific programme called the University Start-Up Tank, which aims to showcase the work of TuksNovation and the benefits of participating in our various programmes.

We are also continually seeking partnerships with corporates as well as soft leads to potential partners that could enhance the opportunities available.

How can staff and students tap into the resources and opportunities provided by the centre?

They can drop us an email and highlight specific areas of support they need in their start-up ventures:

Email: [email protected] or https://bit.ly/TNinquiryForm