NEPAD SANBio / BioFISA II Study Tour to Finland

27 November-5 December 2017.  Since 2009, the BioFISA partnership, established between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in South Africa and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA), has supported the Southern African Partnership programme to strengthen the NEPAD/SANBio Network. The first Phase of the programme was launched in the beginning of 2009 and lasted until the end of September 2012. The second phase, BioFISA II, is a four year programme from 2015 to 2019 with a total budget of EUR 7.82 million, contributed from Finland, South Africa and participating member states.

BioFISA II aims to support the mission of SANBio which includes the facilitation of innovation in support of the development of the regional economy in Southern Africa by:

• supporting an effective and dynamic regional research network, including the establishment of sustainable funding structures for collaboration;
• enhancing human and infrastructure capacity in the region; and
• supporting the development of innovative products within the priority focus areas of health and nutrition, including the development of entrepreneurial skills.

A NEPAD SANBio / BioFISA II Study Tour was organised to Finland in which following companies are participating:

• Elvema Nutrition (Pty) Ltd (www.elvema.co.za) is the manufacturer and distributor of Elvema Instant Nutritional products. Elvema manufactures a variety of teas, nutritious bars, Nutri-Veg shakes and instant porridges in various flavours. Elvema’s nutritional food products contain Moringa Oleifera and the products are at the cutting edge of cellular dysfunction repair, providing a wealth of natural ingredients to help nourish bodies. Elvema was established in 2011 and manufactures its products through Nutritional Food, a facility that is ISO 22000 and HACCP accredited. Some Elvema products are licensed under CSIR Biosciences.
• University of Pretoria, South Africa: Biscuits from sorghum flour • Fermented or acidified drinks from sorghum flour • Bogobe jwa lerotse – extruded, instant sorghum-melon porridge To develop, manufacture and market healthy SMA 2RT food products with traditional values that meet the needs and aspirations of urban-living African Millennials with the aim of creating viable business enterprises
• NEPAD Fish Node - LUANAR, Malawi: Insects for Feed and Food in collaboration with Scaled Impact NPO (South Africa) and Department of Research and Specialist Services (Zimbabwe)
• Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe: Ash-based Vitamin Mineral Block Lick for Beef Cattle Ash-based Vitamin Mineral Block Lick for Goats In collaboration with RAEIN Africa (South Africa). Commercial partner: Capital Foods (Zimbabwe)
• The University of Swaziland (UNISWA), Swaziland: 1) Nutritious and medicinal pellets for livestock 2) Goat yoghurt In collaboration with Chinhoyi University of Technology (Zimbabwe) and Arrowfeeds (Pty) Ltd and Parmalat (Swaziland)
• Sleek Foods (Pty) Ltd was borne out of the founder’s passion for cooking and fine foods. In 2014, Mrs Nkata Seleka, founder and owner who is a seasoned ICT Specialist, took a giant leap of faith to pursue her interest in the food industry. The result is a range of original and unique sauces, pastes and condiments made with recipes which have been tested and refined over time until perfection. Sleek Foods original line of Ready-to-Eat and versatile pastes are made using Olive Oil and no preservatives (and a shelf life of over 2 years), which come in Onion and Tomato flavour (Hot, Mild and Lemon & Herb). These are sold in major Supermarkets around Botswana. This product line has, amongst other accolades, won the First prize at the prestigious Botswana Beef Festival in Botswana in 2014. Sleek Foods is also the 2017 Botswana winner of the FemBioBiz competition and came 3rd at the final round of the same competition in Cape Town at the South African Innovation Summit which was held from the 6th to the 8th September 2017. 
• Kiyomisandz Beauty Products is a two-time INNOVATION AWARD winning cosmetic manufacturing company based in Windhoek, Namibia. It was started up by owner and cosmetic chemist, Sandra Mwiihangele, whose passion and expertise lies in cosmetic development. She was also listed on Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Class of 2017. Kiyomisandz offers 3rd party cosmetic manufacturing services to clients, hotels, etc. such as R&D, Stability Testing & Manufacturing.