Pandor said as Africans, we must position ourselves to compete globally and foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly among our youth.

“Who better than the youth to take advantage of the unprecedented growth in many technology sectors – in particular in mobile and information and communication technology?” asked Pandor.

Africa is the second-fastest growing region in the world, with seven of the 10 fastest-growing global economies. Pandor believes this growth can only be sustained through innovation and ensuring this innovation addresses the global challenges Africa faces.

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“The future for our country and the African continent depends on our development of talented scientists and entrepreneurs working in scarce-skills fields who can take up the opportunity to develop new technologies and innovative solutions for our pressing problems,” said the minister.

“We are investing in the capacity to create and diffuse new knowledge. Following global trends, we are investing in the modernisation of research and development infrastructure, and in particular, new instruments and facilities (like the Centre for High Performance Computing, and SKA) as key components in the drive to ensure we have the capacity to generate new knowledge.”

Available at: http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146058