The National Technology Business Centre (NTBC) is a
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
government agency that supports the commercialization and transfer of technology. NTBC's primary objective is to link developed and proven technologies from various local and international sources with local technology seekers, i.e. business community and
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, for the creation of wealth and employment.
History
NTBC was created by the Science and Technology Act No. 26 of 1997 and Statutory Instrument No. 136 of 1999 to promote, market and facilitate
technology transfer
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
.
It became operational on April 1, 2002 under Zambia's Ministry of Science Technology and Vocational Training.
Services
Though NTBC is a government entity, it takes on the role of a consultancy in the areas of technology commercialization and promoting businesses development through the utilization of expired patents.
Business Development
Promoting technology business through business incubation and the Business Development fund.
Technology Transfer
Bringing technology seekers and users together to improve quality production of goods and service.
Commercialization of Innovative Local Products
Aiding idea conceptualizing, facilitating product development/improvement, testing, production, licensing, launch and marketing
Technology Audit and Validation
It is NTBC's responsibility to take stock of the current technologies in use in Zambia, both local and foreign, and to validate their performance along with the other relevant government bodies.
Technology Information Resource Centre
An online repository of subscriptions and other resources is provided to innovators, research institutions and the business community.
Advise on Intellectual Property Protection & Utilization
NTBC works with
WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...
and the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) to add value to Zambian products and innovations.
IDDS
NTBC is one of the partner organizations hosting
International Development Design Summit
The International Development Design Summit (IDDS) is a collaboration to find cost effective technology solutions for the third world. It was first held in 2007 at MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-gra ...
(IDDS) 2013 in Zambia.
References
External links
National Technology Business Centre
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Government agencies of Zambia