INNOVATION has been cited on many occasions as a key solution to driving economic growth and job creation and the Municipality is creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to adopt creativity and innovation.
As part of the journey towards turning eThekwini into an Innovation City the Municipality is gearing up to host the 3rd International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to be held for the first time in South Africa as means of further developing entrepreneurs.
Set to take place on 19-20 March, the conference aims to shed light on how eThekwini can become the Innovative City. It will bring together leading academics, scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The conference will also discuss the recent innovations, trends, concerns, practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted in the field of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Deputy Mayor and Chairperson of Economic Development and Planning Committee in eThekwini said: “This is proof that government is working tirelessly in winning the war against the high number of businesses that fail due to lack of creativity, poverty and unemployment as we want to encourage people to turn life experiences into ideas. It has been proven that the most powerful ideas will not come from corporate research labs, but from ordinary people struggling to survive.”
Shabalala made an example of a business formed by a young lady and gentlemen who resides in Ntuzuma who saw a gap in ambulance services that used to arrive very late when they are requested in townships and sometimes never show up.
“They then formed their private service called Afromed Medical Services in 2012 and have managed to secure big jobs within a very short space of time. They started with one ambulance but now have five and service the whole of the province and opened employment to ten people through their innovative business idea,” she said.
Shabalala said the Municipality will not rest after this conference as it has formed partnerships with various business institutions and companies and have events lined up with the aim of continuing instilling the culture of innovation.
