This year’s Innovation Summit aims to ignite Africa’s and South Africa’s inventive spirit over three days of inspiration, interaction and collaboration.
The summit, in late August in Johannesburg, will bring together a high-powered panel of local and international inventors, entrepreneurs and left-field thinkers to apply their minds to reversing South Africa’s innovation slide.
Home-grown innovation is crucial to solving our economic and social problems and bolstering our international reputation, but SA has fallen 16 places on the Global Innovation Index over the past three years, from 43 to 59. There are currently no sub-Saharan African countries in the top 50.
The summit intends to address this challenge by providing a collaborative space where various role-players from business, government, academia and civil society can discuss, share their knowledge and experience and explore radical ideas and unorthodox methodologies.
Leading innovation
The event will present a CEO in-depth panel discussion on leading innovation and creating Africa’s competitive edge. Various theme based panel discussions, presentations, workshops, case studies, connect working and other opportunities are designed to facilitate close interaction among delegates and session leaders.
A wide range of issues will be explored, including the need for regional and national innovation systems, the latest theories and research on innovation and creativity, the role of innovative leadership, new business model strategies, new technologies, tools and techniques, funding and the importance of the senses to the creative process.
“Growing the economy and improving the quality of life of the people of South Africaare goals we all strive for and innovation is key to achieving these goals, ” says Dr Steve Lennon, group executive of Eskom Sustainability, one of the lead sponsors of the summit. “That is why Eskom is proud to be the lead sponsor of the Innovation Summit.”
The Innovation Lab, which had a hugely successful debut at last year’s event, will again be at the heart of the creative exchange.
The 5th Innovation Summit runs from 29 to 30 August at The Forum on the Dimension Data Campus in Bryanston. Pre-summit workshops and a public open day will be held on 28 August. Visit innovationsummit.co.za to find out more and register.