The Innovation Hub is running four high profile innovation competitions for Gauteng-based researchers and entrepreneurs with plans to be global leaders in the Medical, Green, ICT and Biotech sectors.
Entries for the competitions open throughout the year to access more than R3 million in seed funding and incubation services. Launch and scale your tech start-up in 1 intensive year.
Researchers, inventors, citizens, entrepreneurs this is what you need to do:
- Enter on the GAP competition website between May and June 2015
- At least nine winners announced at the GAP awards ceremony in November 2015
- Incubate and seed fund your start-up at The Innovation Hub from January to December 2016.
The Competitions
1. GAP Biosciences
GAP Biosciencesis aimed at researchers and entrepreneurs active in the Biotech sector. The winning teams will share a total of R1, 000, 000 in seed funding and business development services from Maxum Business Incubator. They will also join the new BioPark being constructed at The Innovation Hub.
2. GAP Green
GAP Greenseeks innovative entrepreneurs working on green technology solutions related to renewable energy, water management, waste and sanitation, sustainable mobility and food security.
The four winners of GAP Green receive between R50,000 and R200,000 in seed funding and join the prestigious Maxum Business Incubator and Climate Innovation Centre, a joint venture between The Innovation Hub and the World Bank that is accelerating the development of clean tech businesses in South Africa
3. GAP ICT
GAP ICTaims to find innovations in the ICT sector that have strong business potential and prospects for broad social impact. The four winners of GAP ICT receive between R50,000 and R200,000 in seed funding, product and business development services from the Maxum Business Incubator and Mobile Applications Laboratory (mLab) Southern Africa, a joint venture between The Innovation Hub, CSIR and the World Bank that is accelerating the development of mobile tech businesses in South Africa.
4. GAP Medical: Health Innovation Challenge
GAP Medical: Health Innovation Challengeaims to identify and nurture health technology innovations that will contribute to the improvement of health care service delivery. The innovation challenge is conducted in partnership with the World Innovation Day, and the first winner will attend the global event, where they could be eligible to win the World Innovation Prize.
The four winners of GAP Medial receive between R50,000 and R200,000 in seed funding and join the prestigious Maxum Business Incubator at The Innovation Hub.
These competitions are aimed at identifying top local innovators and entrepreneurs looking to take their prototypes and late stage R&D to market. The four competitions are an evolution of the Gauteng Innovation Competition and GAP Biosciences programme which, over the past three years, attracted more than 300 entries and invested over R3 million in seed funding and incubation support into thirteen start-ups in the ICT, green and biotech sectors.