AEROSPACE By Toby Chance
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
SUPPORT INITIATIVE - PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT
In a well-functioning economy, as in the natural world, the big gorillas in each sector dominate the ecosystem while hierarchies of organisations evolve below them to create the diversity and abundance for the whole to thrive. The aerospace industry is no exception.
M
ARIÉ BOTHA IS A KEY player in stimulating the small to medium enterprise segment of the industry as Programme Manager of the Aerospace Industry Support Initiative (AISI). This is where the innovations and technology breakthroughs are mostly found so it is vital that the green sprouts are nurtured and fed. AISI is a programme of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). It was established in 2006 as part of government’s strategy of improving competitiveness in the sector with a specific emphasis on industrialisation of technology and technology-based supplier development. In the post-Covid world and with South Africa’s economy under strain, driving localisation and exports are now its top priorities. Botha emphasises the need for a strong product platform to drive the industry, which is experiencing a serious skills exodus. The Rooivalk helicopter was that platform in days of old, but with nothing to replace it and Denel’s years of mismanagement placing its future in jeopardy, the entire ecosystem is in danger of collapsing.
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FlightCom Magazine
the dtic
Marié Botha heads up the dtic's AISI.
It is in this unstable environment that AISI aims to make a difference to the businesses lower down the food chain: the start-ups and emerging businesses that rely on larger customers to prosper. With a limited annual budget of around R20 million its efforts have had a remarkable impact, boosting advanced design and manufacturing capabilities in the sector leading to innovation, job creation and a boost to exports.
