On Tuesday, 14 May 2024, an award ceremony was held in collaboration with the uYilo e-Mobility Programme (uYilo), The Business Place, and Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC) to congratulate 19 SMMEs/Innovators for completing an incubation programme.
The incubation programme aims to catalyse SMMEs and innovators to develop products and services within the electric mobility (e-mobility) value chain. The incubation programme forms a crucial part of the AIDC-EC Skills and Enterprise Development project implemented by the uYilo e-Mobility Programme (uYilo).
The AIDC-EC, the Finance & the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs are the funders of the incubation programme, aligned to its framework for supporting future skills and sustainable energy within the automotive sector.
The Business Place collaborated and assisted uYilo in developing the incubation programme and identifying SMMEs/innovators who could show proof of the development of their business idea and concept related to e-mobility. The incubation programme was designed to support start-ups in successfully scaling their innovations and bringing them to market. The incubatees were given access to market insights, funding opportunities and industry networks to facilitate the commercialisation of e-mobility solutions and enable them to seize opportunities and effectively address market needs.
While the incubatees have completed the incubation programme, the journey continues. uYilo will continue to assist selected SMMEs/Innovators with engineering, science, and technical support services, helping them transition their e-mobility solutions from the prototype stage to the commercialisation stage. Notably, the SMMEs/Innovators have shown promise in the areas of battery technology and manufacturing, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The Business Place will continue to work with the incubatees by assisting them by facilitating access to finance, market and supply chain linkages, mentoring, and coaching.
A second incubation programme, also funded by the AIDC-EC, is due to start at the beginning of June 2024.