UCT has a range of funding instruments – from very early PreSeed right through to early-stage Venture Capital funding – to support innovation and the commercialisation of research outputs.

The PreSeed and Innovation Builder Funds provide grant funding to mature research outputs to a higher “technology readiness level” within the university.  More mature projects and typically spin-off companies can apply for investment funding from the Evergreen Seed Fund and Evergreen Fund.  These typically provide first-round equity capital to university spin-off companies to accelerate the identified commercialising strategy. The funds are a unique offering in the innovation funding range, providing gap funding to prepare early-stage “deep” technologies for follow-on investment from commercial Seed and Series funders. 

Dr Andrew Bailey, Director of RC&I, shares, “The Evergreen Fund was established in 2017 following a Council decision to permit a portion of UCT’s investments to be made in private equity and, within that allocation, specifically ring-fencing an amount to support UCT spin-off companies”. 

The Evergreen Seed Fund was established from the Evergreen Fund using donations from Alumni, most significantly Mr Richard Sonnenburg.