AIT-SASBI
Academy-Industry Training: Swiss and African Science and Business Innovators Program
In the framework of this program the cooperation between Switzerland and Africa continues into 2021 – 24.
On 30th of June, the Directors’ Roundtable on Innovation kick-started this new phase by bringing together stakeholders from Tech Transfer and Innovation Offices. Under the name of AIT-SASBI, the Academia-Industry Training: Swiss and African Science and Business Innovators Program, joint activities are launched and a greater understanding is targeted of each other’s know-how transfer ecosystem. This program is part of the Swiss-African Academia – Industry Training (Sensitization Phase) financed by the Swiss Ministry for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
The SASBI LinkedIn Account https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8731966/ offers the platform to connect to likeminded people.
This page serves as an excecutive summary of activities. Details are linked.
Event: Lagos Conference 2024
AIT Swiss – Africa Annual Conference
Date: 2024, February 28th-29th
Host: University of Lagos
Co-Host: University of Ibadan
Venue: Lagos, Nigeria
The Academia – Industry Training for Swiss and African science-based entrepreneurs will convene major stakeholders from South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Nigeria, and Switzerland for its 3rd Annual Conference in Lagos, the uncontested business hub of Nigeria.
Are you interested in participating at the AIT Annual Conference 2024 in Lagos?
Then check out more about attending.
Event: AIT Alumni Conference 2024
AIT SASBI Conference
Date: 2024, November 20th-21th
Host: University of Basel
Venue: Cape Town, South Africa
Have you been selected at an AIT-SASBI Annual Spring Conference and then participated in a following Swiss Residency Week?
2024 will give us the opportunity to celebrate 10+ years of joint university – entrepreneurship action. With start-up companies selected along these years and many of them operating successfully today we will dedicate the Year 2024 to the issue of company growth and address various aspects of it in webinars and on-site meetings.
Read more about the big gathering of the companies in November 2024 around the topic of “Challenges of Growth”.
Link: Details and Webinars
Swiss Residency Week 2023
AIT-SASBI Start-Ups expected in Basel
Date: 2023 Juni 18th – 27th
Host: University of Basel
The AIT-SASBI Conference on February 22nd-23rd, 2023, in Johannesburg, selected five start-ups from Rwanda, South Africa, and Nigeria for Swiss Residency seats. The Swiss Residency Week, starting June 18th, includes networking and business opportunities across Basel, Lausanne, and Zurich, and visits to Swiss institutions like EMPA, EPFL, IGE.IPI, and FH Ost, ending on June 27th. The selected start-ups are Igugu Clean Tech, Lola Green, One Trail, Rwanda Green Lighting, and Zaio.
Link: Details and Program
Conference: Social and Tech driven Innovation for Impact
AIT-SASBI Annual Spring Conference
Date: 2023, February, 22nd – 23rd
Host: EDHE – Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education
Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa
Keynote Speaker: Prof. Edwin Constable
The AIT-SASBI community invited to the annual spring conference hosted by EDHE in Johannesburg. In collaboration with the Swiss Embassy in Pretoria and Universities South Africa we brought together stakeholders from entrepreneurship and innovation centers at universities of the SASBI program countries. A jury assessed startup companies that have successfully come out in South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria to present prototypes of their business ideas awarding a 10 days residency stay in Switzerland.
Link: Details and Preliminary Program
Event: Kigali Conference 2022
Date: 2022, March 22nd-25th
Host: University of Rwanda
The SASBI Knowledge group will meet in Kigali to discuss mechanisms of entrepreneurship building and promotion of science-based start up activities. Directors and managers of entrepreneurship and innovation centers at universities of the SASBI program countries (South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Switzerland) are invited to participate and contribute to this exchange of professionals.
Link: Details and Selected Startups
Call: AIT-SASBI Residency Program
Deadline: Nov 1st, 2021.
In cooperation with Innosuisse a maximum of 10 Switzerland based entrepreneurs with scientific linkages (sciencepreneurs) will be selected to take part in a 1 to 3 weeks residency program in the African Lioness States of Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa with the aim to get a better understanding of the African economic environment, to validate their business idea and investigate the potential success of products or services in the local market.
Link: Details
Knowledge Group Meeting #2
Wednesday 27. October 2021, 15:00 – 16:30 CEST
Dr. Theophile Niyonzima, from the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Rwanda (UR), introduced the Innovation sub-program of the UR – Sweden Program, talked about its beginnings, achievements and challenges, the benefits today as students and staff experience it as well as about the impact on the overall start-up ecosystem. The meeting was moderated by Jordi Montserrat from Venturelab.
Link: Details
Knowledge Group Meeting #1
Wed 15th September 2021 / 13:00 – 14:00 CEST
The SASBI Regional Knowledge Group Meetings serve to intensify dialogue among stakeholders of the tech transfer and start-up promotion ecosystem. Every six weeks, one of the five countries present in this group (Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa) will present challenges and good practices and open up the discussion for joint reflection and
Prof. Biba talked about projects in his fields of expertise with South Africa and share good practices.
Link: Details
Kick-Off Meeting
Wed 30th June 2021 / 11:00 – 15:00 CEST
On 30th of June, the Directors’ Roundtable on Innovation kick-started this new phase by bringing together stakeholders from Tech Transfer and Innovation Offices. Under the name of SASBI, the Swiss African Science and Business Innovators Program, joint activities are launched and a greater understanding is targeted of each other’s know-how transfer ecosystem. This program is part of the Swiss-African Academia – Industry Training (Sensitization Phase) financed by the Swiss Ministry for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).