Network Member

Softstart BTI

South Africa

Contacts	Leon Lourens leon@buffelskloof.info http://www.sbti.co.za
Objectives	Affect policymaking Commercialize research Create companies that export revenues Create jobs Develop profitable enterprises Provide income generating opportunities for disadvantaged populations Raise the awareness of potential entrepreneurs Using ICT enabled processes BTI (South Africa), the South African Business and Technology Incubator Association (SABTIA), BusyInternet (Ghana) and the Ugandan Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) are to collectively contribute to the development of incubation and small enterprise development, and ultimately to the economic development of Africa by: developing the Africa Incubator Network (AIN) as conceived at the Global Forum on Incubation in New Delhi in October 2004; setting up three sub regional networking hubs in Eastern/Central, Western and Southern Africa; using these networks to engage with African Governments, private sectors, academic and financial institutions to ensure that momentum is maintained, with respect to political will, investment, intellectual property and talented human resource development; demonstrating early success in international cooperation and local implementation by mid 2006 to potential donors and the World Bank, thus raising awareness of infoDev programmes and attracting further funding; In facilitating the development of the AIN and the sub-regional networks, the consortium will aim to work closely with infoDev in attracting international donor support and government participation to ensure sustainability of the initiative past the seed funding provided by infoDev.
Description
Interests	SBTI has for the past 3 years embarked on a programme of developing strong relationships with tertiary institutions through SATELLITE INCUBATION. The programme enables developing countries to leverage scarce resources and skills to reach a large number of clients throughout our vast countries. At the same time entrepreneurs have access to a diverse range of specialists throughout the world. The satellite programme is also being rolled out to different town councils.
Services	Facilities: ICT services Facilities: Office space Facilities: Special rates with service providers Finance: Equity Financing Finance: Financial management training Finance: Financial management/accounting services Finance: Linkages to financiers Finance: Seed Capital Incubation and Business Development: Business information Incubation and Business Development: Business management and development advisory services Incubation and Business Development: Incubation program for non-resident clients (virtual incubation) Incubation and Business Development: Incubation program for resident clients Incubation and Business Development: Mentoring/coaching Incubation and Business Development: Pre-incubation services Incubation and Business Development: Training in business management Networks and Synergy: Facilitation of linkages between incubates Networks and Synergy: Networking events Networks and Synergy: Referrals to business professionals Technology Transfer: Help with commercializing technology Technology Transfer: Help with intellectual property/patent advice
Year Opened	2002
Type	NGO
Model	Not-for-profit
Sectors	Information and Communication Technologies
Target Population	Rural poor Urban poor Women Youth
Advocacy	This organization actively works to improve innovation and entrepreneurship policy and regulation