Wits University announced on September 14, 2021, that it had secured R8 million (approximately USD 540,000) in seed funding from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) toward implementing Phase 1 of the South African Quantum Technology Initiative (SA QuTI). Wits was designated the official host and administrator of the initiative.
Phase 1 funding was allocated to quantum technology development at Wits University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and the National Metrology Institute of South Africa. A portion of the funds was pre-allocated to support undergraduate, postgraduate, and postdoctoral students in quantum technologies.
SA QuTI was structured as a consortium of five universities: Wits, Stellenbosch University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Zululand, and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The Centre of High-Performance Computing was designated to provide quantum computing infrastructure. Professor Andrew Forbes, Director of WitsQ, said the objective was “to move South Africa into a quantum future where government, industry and academia work together.”