The United Nations Development Program has inaugurated in South Africa the project “Accelerator Labs” – UNDP (https://acceleratorlabs.undp.org/). The initiative was funded by Italy, Germany and Qatar and was simultaneously launched in 60 other countries, mainly in Africa, in Latin America and in Asia. Italian funds were made available by the Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Territory and the Sea), for the promotion of activities related to the achievement of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement in Africa and in the Sahel area.
Accelerator Labs aims at encouraging the rapid development of innovative tools to find common solutions to specific needs, creating new products, applications and services, through an experimental approach based on the networking of local skills, methodologies and experiences. It is about creating “systems” of innovators, that is, districts aimed at focusing on the enhancement of the local element to find solutions to common and global problems. Moreover, the initiative aims to bring together public entities, industry, civil society, banks, universities and the third sector to encourage dialogue and interaction between all the actors involved in the innovative process.
The launch was attended by seven young South African innovators who devised platforms and technologies that embrace various sectors, including e-learning, the offer of housing and counseling services, rapid systems for assessing water quality, systems for water purification based on solar energy and professional clothing for safety on construction sites.
