Advancing Responsible Tech and Innovation in South Africa

The Motsepe Foundation is a proud supporter of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and their Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR). The first Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution was launched in San Francisco in 2017. In the proceeding 6-years, an additional 19 centres were established across five continents.

The Centres aim to encourage responsible applications of technology by applying innovation and new tools towards solving some of the pressing issues faced globally and across local regions.

The Centre in South Africa, hosted at the University of Pretoria (UP), will run in collaboration with leading South African academic institutions. It will also work alongside government and business, while leveraging the Forum’s global communities and initiatives. The Centres are facilitating global collaboration to proliferate the adoption and use of rapidly evolving technologies.

Already the South Africa C4IR has worked with partners to conduct a digital maturity assessment of small, medium and macro enterprises to identify their current level of digital readiness and their potential areas of improvement. Implementation partners will be engaged to deploy IoT devices that will monitor and enhance industrial operations for greater efficiency and performance.

Leveraging access to global best practices, the South Africa C4IR, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Department of Science and Innovation aims to empower innovation, research and socioeconomic development in South Africa while creating an environment conducive to inclusive and sustainable technological advancement.