The Support Programme for Industrial Innovation, otherwise known as SPII, is designed to promote and assist technology development in South African industry through the provision of financial assistance for projects that develop innovative products and/or processes. The SPII programme is managed by the IDC on behalf of the Department of
Trade and Industry and focuses specifically on the phase that begins at the conclusion of basic research and ends at the point where a preproduction prototype has been produced.
The SPII currently consists of three
schemes: the Product Process
Development, Matching and
Partnership Schemes.
The Product Process Development
Scheme
Financial assistance is provided for
small, very small and micro enterprises
(those with less than 50 employees, less
than R13 million turnover and less than
R5 million assets) in the form of a grant
of between 50% and 85% of the
qualifying cost incurred during the
technical development stage, with a
maximum grant of half a million Rand
per project. For those enterprises with
less than 25% black shareholding, the
grant is 5O%. For enterprises with
greater than 25% but less than 50%
black shareholding or greater than 50%
women or physically challenged
shareholding, the grant amount is 75%.
For enterprises with black shareholding
greater than 50%, the grant amount is
85%.
The Matching Scheme
Financial assistance under the Matching
Scheme is provided to SMEs (those with
less than 200 employees, less than R51
million turnover, and assets of less than
R19 million) in the form of a grant of the
qualifying cost incurred during the
technical development stage – up to a
maximum grant amount of one and
a half million Rand per project. For
enterprises with less than 25% black
shareholding, the grant is 5O%. For
enterprises with greater than 25% but
less than 50% black shareholding or
greater than 50% women or physically
challenged shareholding, the grant
amount is 65%, and for enterprises with
black shareholding greater than 50%,
the grant amount is 75%.
The Partnership Scheme
Financial assistance under the
Partnership Scheme is provided in the
form of a conditionally repayable grant
of 50% of the qualifying cost incurred
during development activity with a
minimum grant amount of one and
a half million Rand (R1 500 000) per
project, repayable on successful
commercialization of the project.
The SPII Annual Awards
Each year, the annual SPII Awards are
held with the aim of promoting the
spirit of industrial innovation
throughout South Africa and
recognizing those companies that have
successfully commercialized SPIIsupported
projects. Four awards are
presented in total, one in each of the
small, medium and large company
categories, together with a special
Chairman’s Award, selected from a
group of twelve finalists.
Recent winners of these prestigious
awards have included Prism Payment
Technologies (Pty) Limited in the large
company category, for the
development of its
USIMETRIX/JSIMETRIX SIM Project.
Teletracer (Pty) Limited in the medium
company category, for the
development of a Web-based
Telephone Management System
Project. e-Learning Systems (Pty)
Limited in the small enterprise category,
for its development of an Online Author
Project. Welfit Oddy (Pty) Limited
received the Chairman’s Award for its
development of a new Light-Weight
Tank Container Range.
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