Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina on launch of South African Centre for Industry and Technology in Pretoria

The Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ms Nomalungelo Gina, delivered the keynote address at the launch of the South African Centre for Industry and Technology (SACIT) in Pretoria yesterday.

The Centre is hosted by the University of Pretoria, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, and was launched as part of the B20 South Africa Industrial Transformation and Innovation Track. This track is one of the side events of the 3rd G20 Research and Innovation Working Group (RIWG) and Ministerial Meetings, held in Pretoria and hosted by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of South Africa’s presidency of the G20 this year.

The SACIT is one of three new centres announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2025, alongside those in Oman and Riyadh, and the renewal of C4IR UAE.

Deputy Minister Gina said the new centre comes at a critical time as South Africa works to revitalise its manufacturing sector, which currently contributes 13% to the GDP and is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.7% over the next decade.

“The Centre will be a hub for innovation-led industrialisation, ensuring that localisation is about embedding innovation in our industries to strengthen competitiveness, create sustainable jobs, and attract investment,” she said.

Highlighting South Africa’s Science, Technology and Innovation Decadal Plan (2022–2032), she pointed to successes in programmes that modernise manufacturing and mining — from technology stations at universities that support small firms, to advanced mining technologies such as drones, scanners and real-time analysis tools that improve safety and productivity.

The Deputy Minister stressed that partnerships are key, not only within South Africa’s innovation ecosystem but also across the continent. She announced plans for a new OR Tambo Research Chair on Industrialisation, which will support Africa’s regional integration, value chains, and green industrialisation under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“The South African Centre for Industry and Technology calls on us to co-invest, co-innovate and co-create, so that Africa takes its rightful place as a leader in global industrial transformation,” Deputy Minister Gina concluded.

The Centre is also run in collaboration with Walter Sisulu University of Technology, as well as the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town. Included are government departments and research excellence centres, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, said the Centre will help position South Africa for manufacturing readiness and support its sustainable energy transition towards net zero.

SACIT is expected to enhance readiness for the future of global value chains and the energy transition in South Africa with a focus on inclusive, cross-industry digitisation and decarbonisation.

The World Economic Forum launched the first Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco in 2017, followed by centres in Japan and India. The network now includes centres in Azerbaijan, Colombia, Germany, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Qatar, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

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