Awakening SA's sleeping university technology giant – UTF CEO Wayne Stocks

Experience overseas has proven universities can provide technological innovation that can be commercialised and have a positive impact on economies. One of the best examples of this is Oxford Sciences Innovation, a technology transfer company that was created to fund the university spinout companies.OSI is a major shareholder in Vaccitech, the Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine developer. The innovation has also catapulted the Oxford scientist, Prof Sarah Gilbert, who developed the Vaccitech vaccine into fame. This ability to monetise discoveries has been lagging in South Africa, but a University Technology Fund was launched at the beginning of this year and the UTF has managed to secure R230 million to help commercialise technology and intellectual property originating from South African universities. The UTF has since its launch invested in five companies: BioCODE, Phagoflux and the Stellenbosch Nanofiber Company from Stellenbosch University, Cape Bio Pharms and Hydrogen Energy from the University of Cape Town and Hyrax Biosciences from the University of the Western Cape. One of the partners at the UTF, Wayne Stocks, told BizMews that the fund, a first in Africa, wants to awake the sleeping giant of intellectual property as an asset class in South Africa. - Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices