Growth requires intellectual capital and smart policies

"Only one in six school-leavers enter higher education institutions," James says. However, instead of "dwelling on the many shortcomings of [...South Africa's education system]," he says "I would like to outline how [...] we can build upon our existing intellectual capital and lay the foundation for strong and sustainable economic growth."

Firstly, James addresses "unnecessary red tape, high corporate taxes, restrictive labour policies, high costs and an antagonistic national administration" that must give way to "entrepreneurial energy and innovation, [because we] have the intellectual assets to become a leading global research and development (R&D) hub. What we need is the right policy environment," James says, adding that turning research into economic opportunity requires the right incentives, a facilitative policy framework and a supportive institutional environment that encourages entrepreneurial thinking. "What is needed in South Africa is for legislation and policy to be changed at a national level in order to make it easier for us to capitalise on our intellectual assets," James explains.

One can find relevant international best practices, for example, the US state of Georgia created public-private partnerships between six research universities, government and business. A state-initiated Research Alliance Venture Fund provides "commercialisation grants" that assist researchers to turn their work into marketable products. This is combined with changes to legislation to incentivise cooperation between industries and university-based research units. Similar local solutions that draw on international experience may be used here to "grow the economy at a sufficient rate, create jobs and expand the circle of opportunity, so that more [...] talented young graduates can become active participants in a South African economy driven by innovation," Wilmot James' Business Report opinion piece concludes.

Read the full article on www.iol.co.za.