UNICOM Country · Episode 02 ·
SOUTH AFRICA
University Commercialisation
The commercial engine for South Africa's universities.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
Founder & CEO · MARATTO
To be announced
On MARATTO™ from South Africa
The commercial engine for South Africa's universities.
South Africa's 2008 Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act gave the country something no other African nation has: a legal mandate for every publicly funded university to identify, protect, and commercialise its research, with a national IP management office (NIPMO) to enforce it. Almost two decades on, the science is strong. The institutional scaffolding is real. What stands between the two and the market is what one recent study calls limited human and financial resources, a lack of commercialisation expertise, and weak links to the private sector.
Learnings will include
- iWhy the IPR-PFRD Act delivered structure but not yet scale.
- iiWhat a fractional, outsourced TTO model unlocks for institutions that already have one.
- iiiHow South African research, ventures and spinouts move through the MARATTO pipeline.
Meet the speakers
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
Founder & CEO · MARATTO
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II is the Founder and CEO of MARATTO, where the mission is to commercialise African university research and innovation at scale. The vision is bold and simple: every African university, an engine of pr…
To be announced
Agenda
60 min
- 15 minPresentation on What South Africa's public data is showing about the research and innovation output of its universities — Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
- 20 minFireside Chat with TBC
- 25 minOpen-floor Q&A
Who should attend
- Vice-Chancellors, DVCs and university leadership
- TTO heads, research managers, innovation directors
- Faculty and students with research or innovations with commercial potential
- Alumni with a retrospective innovation linked to their alma mater
- Funders and policy actors backing African innovation
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