Plenary, Opening Session
Chemistry as a catalyst for scientific entrepreneurship towards sustainable development in Africa Kelly Chibale Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa E-mail: Kelly.Chibale@uct.ac.za Scientific entrepreneurship broadly refers to using science for development, for example to undertake health innovation through translational research, building enabling technology platforms and creating jobs. While there are large numbers of African scientists graduating, as well as a large number that forms part of the diaspora, supporting local scientific entrepreneurship can help move the continent forward. Being a central science, chemistry, when integrated with other disciplines, can catalyze scientific entrepreneurship to drive job creation, address unmet medical needs and contribute to reversing the brain drain out of Africa. This lecture will describe the journey of the University of Cape Town Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre and its associated H3D Foundation in exemplifying scientific entrepreneurship. Initiatives aimed at expanding the ecosystem and community towards building a critical mass of skilled scientists across the continent of Africa in a sustainable manner will also be described. Key words: chemistry, entrepreneurship, health innovation, translational research
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