Bulawayo seeks collaborations for research and innovation

Sikhulekelani Moyo

City of Bulawayo’s economic development officer, Mr Mthandazo Ngwenya has revealed that they envisage that the Bulawayo Economic Development Conference will go a long way in ensuring they attain their vision of becoming a leading smart transformative city by the end of the year.

Presenting on the overview of research and innovation in the city, Mr Ngwenya said the conference was to come up with synergies to strengthen research and innovation.

“We are looking for collaboration with different stakeholders such as different private sector companies, academia for research initiatives, technology transfer and intellectual property

He said they were exploring potential funding opportunities for specific projects, such as digital, smart city Initiatives, and net-zero projects.

Mr Ngwenya added that there was the possibility of joint funding applications and collaborative research proposals as well as potential funding sources, including UK Research and Innovation (UKR), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) among others.