The Technology Innovation Agency is still funding. It is a national public entity under the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, backing technology projects between proof of concept and market entry. Its funding instruments page lists six instruments, from a Grassroots Innovation Programme capped at R200 000 to a deployment fund capped at R1 million. You apply through TIA’s own portal, though several instruments open only during advertised calls or through implementing partners.
TIA is not a general small business lender and was never designed to be one. It funds the expensive, unglamorous middle of a technology project: the stage where a working idea becomes a tested prototype, a certified product, or a pilot a real customer will pay for.
If you resell hardware or run an app assembled from off the shelf tools, TIA is unlikely to be the right door. If you are building something technical that does not yet exist, it is one of the few places that will consider a project before it has revenue.
What is the Technology Innovation Agency?
TIA is a national public entity established under the Technology Innovation Agency Act, sitting under the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. Some pages still use the department’s former name, the Department of Science and Innovation, so do not read that as a different body. Its job is to move technology out of the lab and into commercial use, the gap where good research usually dies for lack of money.
The agency works across four groups: higher education institutions, science councils and research institutions, SMMEs and industry, and grassroots innovators operating outside formal innovation institutions. That last category is built for someone with a working invention and no research institution behind them, though most registered technology businesses sit in the SMME and industry group.
TIA thinks in technology readiness levels, or TRLs, a nine point scale running from a basic idea to a product proven in commercial operation. Every instrument is pegged to a TRL band, so knowing where your project sits decides which fund you apply to.
Is TIA still funding in 2026?
Yes. There has been public discussion about consolidating the country’s science and innovation institutions, and the department has confirmed that bills amending the mandates of TIA and the National Space Agency, along with a broader Science, Technology and Innovation Bill, remain at concept stage rather than enacted law. TIA has not been merged or renamed. It still runs its own instruments and its own portal, and was still issuing calls and tenders through 2026.
The six TIA funding instruments
TIA’s funding instruments page lists six funds, and they are not interchangeable. Older pages on TIA’s own site still carry a shorter, differently named set, so treat the funding instruments page as the current position and confirm the name before you apply.
- Technology Development Fund: prototype development, demonstration and pilot plants, certification support and technoeconomic studies. Open to SMMEs, higher education institutions, science councils and start ups at TRL 4 to 7, with co-funding able to come from the private sector.
- Commercialisation Support Fund: market samples, certification support, market testing and validation, and regulatory approvals. Aimed at TRL 8 to 9, meaning the technology already works and needs to clear the last hurdles before sale.
- SEED Fund: turns research outputs into prototypes and fundable commercialisation cases, at TRL 3 to 8. TIA appoints university technology transfer offices, research councils, incubators and regional development agencies as implementing partners through periodic calls, so this route is usually reached through one of them rather than direct.
- Grassroots Innovation Programme: tiered support covering intellectual property protection, business model development, training, prototype development at TIA technology stations, and mentorship. TIA states a maximum of R200 000 for the technology development grant, plus a project fee of R60 000 per 12 months.
- Technology Acquisition and Deployment Fund: deployment, market testing, demonstration and validation of mature, locally developed technologies, capped at R1 million per project over a maximum of 24 months. Applicants have to identify potential government or municipal customers, so you need a credible buyer in view first.
- Industry Matching Fund: co-funding for late stage technologies, structured to share risk with other funders. TIA looks for partners who are investors, potential customers or industry players with funding available and a track record in commercialisation, so that partner has to be lined up before this one is open to you.
Read that as a ladder, not a menu. Applying at prototype stage for commercialisation money puts you in the wrong queue.
Who qualifies for TIA funding
The eligibility bar is where most applications come apart. Individual applicants must be citizens or permanent residents with valid identity documents. Companies must be registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and compliant with generally accepted corporate governance practices. Beyond that, TIA requires:
- Registration on the Central Supplier Database, unless National Treasury precludes it
- A compliant tax status
- Contractual capacity to enter into an agreement with TIA
- No shareholding by public servants, meaning public servant shareholders must divest
Two conditions catch technology businesses in particular. The primary development work must happen in South Africa unless TIA gives written prior authorisation. And where the intellectual property is foreign owned, it must be licensed or assigned to a local institution such as a university or science council, or to a legal entity registered with CIPC, with minimum equity ownership by a South African entity and the B-BBEE requirements met. If your IP sits in a holding company registered elsewhere, sort that out before you apply.
How to apply for TIA funding
Applications run through TIA’s funding gateway at funding.tia.org.za/gateway. You register a user account, activate it through the emailed link, set a password, log in and start a new application. A portal user guide sits on the site, and [email protected] handles queries.
Registering an account does not mean every instrument is open to you that day. TIA advertises specific calls with their own closing dates, and the SEED Fund in particular is delivered through implementing partners appointed via periodic expressions of interest. Check TIA’s open calls page before you build a timeline around a submission date.
Before you open the portal, get four things in order: CIPC registration documents, tax compliance status, Central Supplier Database registration, and a written statement of who owns the intellectual property and where it is registered.
Write the technical section for an assessor who understands the science but has never seen your product. State the TRL you are at now, the TRL the money takes you to, and what gets built or tested with it.
The R&D tax incentive most technology founders miss
Grant money is not the only support available. Section 11D of the Income Tax Act allows companies carrying out qualifying scientific and technological research and development in South Africa to claim a 150 per cent deduction on qualifying operational R&D expenditure. The incentive runs until 31 December 2033.
The catch is pre-approval. Activities must be approved by the Minister responsible for science and innovation, on applications processed by the department and evaluated by the R&D Tax Incentive Adjudication and Monitoring Committee. Expenditure historically qualified only from the date the department received the application, and a grace period now allows qualifying spend incurred up to six months before that date. Apply before you spend, not after.
Why applications fail on paperwork, not on the idea
TIA is a public entity spending public money, so its assessment is as much a compliance exercise as a technical one. An application with a brilliant prototype and an outdated tax clearance is a failed application. So is one where the applicant cannot show who owns the IP. Treat the compliance pack as the first deliverable, because the eligibility questions are broadly the same at every other funder you approach.
Where to go if TIA is not a fit
Plenty of technology businesses are not TIA candidates. If you need working capital rather than development capital, these instruments will not match your project.
Look instead at the wider set of state options in our guide to government funding for SMEs, and at the sector routes in our breakdown of funding options for ICT businesses. Incubators and technology transfer offices are worth a call too, partly because several of them are the channel through which the SEED Fund is reached.
Frequently asked questions
Does TIA give grants or loans?
TIA’s published instruments fund defined technology development and commercialisation activities rather than general business lending. Each instrument carries its own terms, so confirm the structure of the one you are applying to before you model it into your cash flow.
How much can I get from TIA?
It depends on the instrument. TIA states a maximum of R200 000 for the Grassroots Innovation Programme technology development grant, plus a R60 000 project fee per 12 months. The Technology Acquisition and Deployment Fund is capped at R1 million per project. The other instruments publish no fixed cap, so the ceiling is set by the call and the project.
Can a sole proprietor apply?
Individual applicants must be citizens or permanent residents with valid identity documents, and juristic persons must be CIPC registered. Beyond the grassroots route, expect to need a registered company, a compliant tax status and Central Supplier Database registration.
Does TIA fund software and app development?
TIA does not publish a separate software rule. Its instruments are pegged to technology readiness levels, so the practical test is whether your project is genuine technology development with a defined TRL journey rather than the assembly of existing tools. The primary development work must also happen in South Africa unless TIA authorises otherwise in writing. If you are unsure, put the question to [email protected] before you build an application around it.
Do I need to own the intellectual property?
Where IP is foreign owned it must be licensed or assigned to a local institution such as a university or science council, or to a legal entity registered with CIPC, and the applicant must meet minimum equity ownership by a South African entity along with B-BBEE requirements. Document your IP position before applying, not during assessment.
Further reading
Originally published in November 2023. Updated September 2026 with current TIA funding instruments, published funding caps, eligibility conditions and application steps. Funding instrument terms, caps and open calls change without notice, so confirm the detail on TIA’s own site before you build a plan around it.
