In his state of the nation address in 2001, President Thabo Mbeki said of biotechnology: “We recognise the fact that competitiveness is driven by technological advances and innovation. In recognition of this, investment in research and development is one of the focal points of our integrated plan aimed at attaining a cutting edge in key areas such as biotechnology.”

In the same year, the National Biotechnology Strategy was adopted and, since then, Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centres (BRICS) were established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to implement the strategy.

Each BRIC comprises anchor investors, an incubator, a technology platform and a research programme. The Gauteng BRIC’s focus will be animal health and production, industry, mining and minerals processing, and the environment.

The BRIC in Gauteng is known as BioPAD (Biotechnology Partnerships and Development). The DST is investing R144 million in BioPAD (www.biopad.org.za), to promote biotechnology in the region.

BioPAD is a collective response by a community of stakeholders to meeting the challenges posed by the varied needs of the region and the continent. Through a portfolio of multi-institutional projects, in the focal areas of animal health, industrial, mining and environmental (IME) biotechnology, BioPAD is working towards placing South Africa among the world leaders in the application of biotechnology, thereby stimulating economic development, contributing to job creation, and building world-class skills and technology platforms to sustain and continue development.

BioPAD, through its stakeholders, strives to achieve the following objectives:

	Development of robust technology platforms that support innovation and creation of sustainable biotechnology enterprises.
	Contribute to development of scientific expertise and infrastructure within the biotechnology community.
	Support initiatives in Industrial and Agricultural biotechnology.
	Strengthen links between innovators, entrepreneurs, incubators and investors in order to facilitate rapid exploitation of research outcomes.
	Ensure efficient use of resources in the region by constructing a database of the biotechnology resources available within the consortium members and the biotechnology community
	Promote Black Empowerment in the bio-economy.
	Position and market BioPAD to attract biotechnology investments in the region.

Key areas of biotechnology in Gauteng are:

	Human Health
	Animal Health
	Plant Biotechnology
	Industrial, Mining and Environmental Biotechnology
	Other biotech services, such as diagnostics, biotech equipment, bioinformatics, etc.

According to the recent Biotechnology Audit (www.egolibio.co.za), Gauteng hosts 41% of core biotechnology companies in South Africa. In addition, Gauteng is home to leading research institutions such as CSIR, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Wits and University of Pretoria.

Major research institutions and organisations in Gauteng and its surrounding regions include:

	University of the Witwatersrand
	University of Pretoria
	Rand Afrikaans University
	Potchefstroom University for CHE
	University of South Africa (UNISA)
	Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa)
	Vista University
	University of the North
	University of Venda

	National Institute of Virology
	FABI

	Technikon Pretoria
	Technikon Witwatersrand
	North West Technikon
	Northern Gauteng Technikon
	Technikon SA
	Vaal Triangle Technikon

	Mintek
	CSIR
	ARC Headquarters
	ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute
	ARC-Animal Improvement Institute
	ARC-Animal Nutrition and Animal Products Institute
	ARC-Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops
	ARC-Range and Forage Institute
	ARC-Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute
	ARC-Grain Crops Institute
	ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute
	ARC-Institute for Industrial Crops
	South African Bureau of Standards

Gauteng Province offers vast opportunities for investments in biotechnology. BioPAD and its stakeholders offer sound bases for new technology development and venture establishment in the region. To find out how BioPAD is brokering in biotechnology for the benefit of the region and South Africa visit: www.biopad.org.za