Programme Director

MEC for Finance and e-Governance, Ms Barbara Creecy

TIHMC Board members

CEO of The Innovation Hub, Mr McLean Sibanda

Director of Joburg Centre for Software Engineering, Prof Barry Dwalotzky

Representatives from the French Embassy

Distinguished guests

Members of the media

Our drive to grow the Gauteng City Region economy in an equitable and inclusive manner is dependent on the development and promotion of sustainable enterprises and SMMEs. As the provincial government of Gauteng, we have focused on establishing transformative partnerships with different economic stakeholders, in order to create opportunities for entrepreneurs within the mainstream economy and with a focus on digital innovations.

An important aspect in helping start-ups to grow and flourish, is establishing a support system and a conducive ecosystem for those with the ambition, tenacity and skills to boldly start their own enterprises.  This includes having seasoned entrepreneurs to act as coaches and mentors for those who are at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey, as well as connecting networks of entrepreneurs so they can share ideas and build to motivate one another. 

Distinguished Guests

For a developing nation, South Africa’s rate of entrepreneurial activity is very low. It has been proven to be true that economies that grow and create meaningful jobs for citizens are those that excel at entrepreneurship and SMME development.  Without entrenching and developing a culture of entrepreneurship amongst our people, we will not be able to overcome the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality that continue to plague our country.

As the government of Gauteng Province, we are committed to radical economic transformation as well as building a modern economy that is highly industrialized.  In the Gauteng Economic Plan that we have developed, there is a specific focus on radically transforming the Gauteng economy through new, smart, knowledge-based solutions. We want to develop the productive capacity of youth enterprises and co-operatives that produce goods and services which address the digital economy and social needs.

We are committed towards growing the digital economy through The Innovation Hub, a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, in partnership with Wits University’s Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering. It is because of your commitment to advancing the Gauteng economy that we are able to gather today to launch this digital hub. The Centre’s main focus is to support and develop entrepreneurs in the gaming, animation, virtual reality and digital sectors.  Sectors that have had minimal transformation because of their inaccessibility, Maxum Digital has therefore been setup as a catalyst to bridge the gap of access to resources and the markets in the gaming, animation and virtual reality.  The incubator has partnered with the likes of Animation SA, Celestial Games, Telkom and Ericsson to support its entrepreneurs in accessing market opportunities.

To date Maxum Digital has managed to incubate 16 (sixteen) youth and woman – owned entrepreneurs and the facility is continuously looking at expanding its impact by offering value added services. By the end of the financial year end the centre had envisaged that it would have 14 more incubates, bringing it to a total of 30 (thirty) entrepreneurs. This centre will support the entrepreneurs with much needed business and technical support to develop their business concepts, branding, coding, testing workshops and legal or intellectual property advice in digital gaming and digital technologies.

You would have noticed by now how the world is rapidly moving toward a digital landscape.  Everything is going the smart route.  First it was our smart phones and now we are moving towards smart homes, cars and cities, and virtual realities that allow its audiences a real time experience. The 3D and now 4D movies have created new waves in the film industry.  This is the space that some of the entrepreneurs incubated at the Maxum Digital are venturing into.  Currently we have three entrepreneurs that have partnered to work on the LIliesleaf project, a partnership with Ericson where a virtual reality tour of the museum has been created to enhanced visitors experience. 

Maxum Digital aims to promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth in line with the development of vibrant, innovative, cutting edge enterprises that will create jobs and offer a better quality of life to our people. We are excited and proud of this initiative as we advance the Gauteng economy.  We are grateful to Wits University for their collaborative efforts and we call upon all stakeholders to join hands with us to move this center forward

To the entrepreneurs that are incubated in this facility, we wish you all the best of luck and look forward to the global products that will emerge from you.

I thank you.