Start-up communities for science-based industrialisation

Nokuthula G Moyo-Muparuri

The last article, which was about start-up communities for mineral-based industrialisation emphasised the need to develop a critical minerals strategy with a road map for upstream and downstream processing for each critical mineral to ensure industrialisation.

This article is about building knowledge and innovation start-up communities for science-based industrialisation.

The following will be discussed: Developing a science-based industrialisation strategy; Instituting a diversified energy industry; establishing an electronics industry; enlarging the Zim chemical industry; extending the services of the Zim space industry; ensuring sustainable development through reforming the environmental science sector; and developing the start-up community partnerships for science-based industries.

Developing a science-based industrialisation strategy

Science based industries are the core of the knowledge based economy. They are those industries whose techniques depend among others on scientific empirical and technological findings made before the development of the particular methods.

There is need to develop Zimbabwe’s science-based industrialisation strategy. The strategy should include the development and diversification of science based industries such as energy, electronics, chemicals, space and environmental science sector.

The strategy should enable the country to create diverse, resilient and sustainable supply chains through strong and secure international partnerships; build sovereign capability in science based equipment manufacturing; use the country’s resources to help Zimbabwe to become a manufacturer of science based equipment; extract more value from the country’s resources to create jobs and economic opportunities for national and regional communities.

The strategy should clearly determine the steps of how each resource will be used to ensure science-based industrialisation.

Instituting a diversified energy industry

There is need to develop a diversified energy industry in Zimbabwe. According to Wikipedia, the energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution.

Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industry is a crucial part of the infrastructure and maintenance of society in almost all countries.

In particular, the energy industry comprises: the fossil fuel industries, which include petroleum industries (oil companies, petroleum refiners, fuel transport and end-user sales at gas stations) coal industries (extraction and processing) and the natural gas industries (natural gas extraction, and coal gas manufacture, as well as distribution and sales); the electrical power industry, including electricity generation, electric power distribution and sales; the nuclear power industry; the renewable energy industry, comprising alternative energy and sustainable energy companies, including those involved in hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar power generation, and the manufacture, distribution and sale of alternative fuels; and, traditional energy industry based on the collection and distribution of firewood, the use of which, for cooking and heating, is particularly common in poorer countries.

Establishing an electronics industry

There is need to develop capabilities for establishing the electronics industry and then develop the institutions required to develop this sector.

The electronics sector produces electronic equipment and consumer electronics and manufactures electrical components for a variety of products. Common items in the electronics sector include mobile devices, televisions, and circuit boards.

Industries within the electronics sector include telecommunications, electronic components, industrial electronics, and consumer electronics. The most profitable industry within the electronics sector is the semiconductor industry. Emerging market economies are driving the growth of the electronics sector.

Key segments of electronics industry consist of semiconductor supply and manufacturing services: This segment does design and manufacture work, and supplies everything related to semiconductors including electrical components and integrated circuits that are common in many electrical and electronic devices.

It supports almost every industry you can think of including medical, aviation, automotive, telecoms, etc.

The Industrial Equipment segment manufactures equipment that assists in industrial processes.

Equipment can range from industrial robots, automation and control systems, wafer-processing equipment, semiconductor assembly and packaging equipment, electronic testing and measurement equipment, etc.

The networking and communication equipment segment comprises manufacturers of consumer and industrial networking hardware and other communication equipment.

This could be routers, LANs, WANs, switchboards, bridges, hubs, and gateways. Examples of companies specialising in this segment include Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks, Telco Systems, etc.

The computer and office products segment are producers of a wide range of business-related electronic equipment like copiers and fax machines, and computing equipment including personal computers, servers, mainframes, and workstations.

The medical devices segment deals with the manufacture of electro-medical equipment used in diagnosis, surgical procedures, medical imaging, forensics, and medical research and training. Such machines include ultrasound devices, X-ray machines, dialysis machines, heart-rate monitors, and so on.

The consumer electronics and home appliances is a major segment in the electronic industry and produces consumer products such as televisions, radios, DVD players, video gaming systems, mobile phones, cameras, electronic ovens, etc. They also produce home intercommunication and alarm systems.

Enlarging the Zim chemical industry

The country already does have a chemicals industry sector, however there is need to extend the influence to those products that the country is not manufacturing.

The products of the chemical industry can be divided into three categories: Basic chemicals; specialty chemicals; and consumer chemicals.

Basic chemicals are divided into; chemicals derived from oil, known as petrochemicals; polymers; and basic inorganics.

Basic chemicals, produced in large quantities, are mainly sold within the chemical industry and to other industries before becoming products for the general consumer.

For example, ethanoic acid is sold on to make esters, much of which in turn is sold to make paints and at that point sold to the consumer. Petrochemicals are produced from petroleum and increasingly from coal and biomass.

The hydrocarbons in crude oil and gas, which are mainly straight chain alkanes, are first separated using their differences in boiling point.

They are then converted to hydrocarbons that are more useful to the chemical industry, such as branched chain alkanes, alkenes and aromatic hydrocarbons.

In turn, these hydrocarbons are converted into a very wide range of basic chemicals which are immediately useful or are subjected to further reactions to produce a useful end product, for example, phenol to make resins and ammonia to make fertilizers. The main use for petrochemicals is in the manufacture of a wide range of polymers.

Basic inorganics are relatively low cost chemicals used throughout manufacturing and agriculture. They are produced in very large amounts, and include chlorine, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric and nitric acids and chemicals for fertilisers.

Specialty chemicals cover a wide variety of chemicals for crop protection, paints and inks, colorants (dyes and pigments).

It also includes chemicals used by industries as diverse as textiles, paper and engineering. Consumer chemicals are sold directly to the public. They include, for example, detergents, soaps and other toiletries.

Extending the services of the Zim space industry

Zimbabwe entered the space industry by establishing the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency. The country successfully launched ZimSat-1, its initial earth observation satellite into space in November 2022. Another satellite, ZimSat-2 will be launched later in 2024.

There is need to also participate in manufacturing of launch equipment, satellite equipment, equipment to support astronauts and equipment that can be used on space missions, such as rover vehicles.

The space industry includes the various businesses and organizations involved in what can be broadly referred to as the “space economy”. This encompasses all goods and services related to ideas like space travel, space exploration, and space technology.

There are four main components of the space industry, which are as follows: Launch services & manufacturing, satellite manufacturing, ground equipment manufacturing and commercial space tourism.

The launch services and the manufacturing segment is centred around developing equipment that will launch people and objects into space and provide related services.

This includes manufacturing rockets, shuttles, descent vehicles, similar technology, and equipment used by launch service teams. The satellite manufacturing segment of the space industry is concerned with the design and creation of artificial satellites.

This includes any object intentionally placed into orbit around the Earth, but some of the most common examples include communications satellites, mapping satellites, weather satellites, and space stations.

The ground equipment manufacturing segment of the space industry focuses on making various tools ground support staff use during space missions.

This may include, for example, control stations, satellite dishes that are designed to receive signals from satellites, portable terminals, and similar equipment.

The commercial space tourism sector is the newest segment within the space industry and is based on using space travel for recreational purposes. Essentially, space tourism companies design the equipment and provide the services required to send paying customers into space and then get them back to Earth safely.

Ensuring Sustainable Development through reforming the Environmental Science Sector

There is need to reform the Environmental Management Agency to ensure that its activities contribute to Sustainable Development.

The environment sector is concerned with protecting the natural environment and mitigating the negative impacts of human society on the environment, for the benefit of people, wildlife, and natural systems.

The environmental sector (environmental goods and services sector, EGSS) consists of companies and institutions that are involved in activities with respect to measuring, preventing, limiting, minimising or correcting environmental damage to water, air and soil as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems.

People who work in the environment sector may be employed by companies providing environmental services or services to the environment sector, governments, or councils.

The environmental sector is at the forefront of addressing global challenges, with environmental professionals and scientists playing an integral role in the transition to a sustainable society.

This sense of purpose gives those working in the sector a high level of satisfaction, and believe that they provide a positive contribution to society and/or the environment.

Developing the Start-Up Community Partnerships for Science Based Industries

The Start-Up Community can develop partnerships that will bring together all the different actors critical to the development of Start-Ups in the Science Based Industry.

These partners should include the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, for the Energy Industry, and the financial Institutions with a specific focus on the Science Based Industries, and businesses in the Science Based Industries.

Most of the Research Institutes for the Science based Industries are housed within Scientific and Industrial Research & Development Centre (SIRDC).

The Energy Industry Start-up community can partner with the Energy Technology Institute, the Electronics Industry Start-Up Community to partner with the Electronics & Communications Institute, the Environmental Sector to partner with the Environmental Science Institute, the Chemical Industry Start-Up Community to partner with the Biotechnology Research Institute, the Space Industry Start-Up Community to partner with Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency.

The respective partnerships can carry out research activities to identify challenges requiring innovative solutions in their Science Based Industry sector.

This information together with the Science Based Industrialisation Strategy can assist in developing Innovation Competitions/Challenge looking for Start-Ups who can develop a business case to address the Innovation Challenge, which can then be scaled up for the African continent.

Nokuthula G Moyo-Muparuri is a lecturer at the Midlands State University in the Faculty of Business Sciences. She is also the Founder of the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship. The mission of the Institute is Start-Up/Innovation Skills Development and Start-Up/Innovation Ecosystem Development. The Institute has established Zim Start-Up Events and Competitions to facilitate Meet-ups, Networking events, Start-Up Competitions and Zim Kick-Start & Scale-Up Conferences. Those interested can contact the Institute on +263718747621.