Tshumisano Trust is one of the initiatives of the Department of Science and Technology and was established in 2001 with the aim of assisting SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises) in areas of national priority.  Its mandate is to provide Technical Support to Technology based SME’s through Technology Stations and Institutes of Advanced Tooling, thus making the Universities more relevant to the industry by transferring their Technical knowledge to the SME’s. The Trust implements the Technology Station Programme on behalf of the DST at University of Technologies, formerly known as Technikons. 

Tshumisano’s goal is to improve the competitiveness and innovation capacity of SME’s in selected sectors through the universities, hence to accelerate the mutually beneficial link between Universities and SME’s. In order to achieve this goal, the Technology Stations are established to maintain a sustainable system of competent providers of technology transfer and related activities, needs-oriented services at the universities and influence the Universities to orient more graduates and R&D outputs towards the needs of SME’s.
 
To date, Tshumisano has twelve Technology Stations at different Universities plus three Institutes for Advanced Toolings.  The Technology Stations support SME’s in diversified sectors, ranging from Agro-Processing, Chemicals, Clothing & Textile, Automotive industry and Tooling Sector.  They are grouped into four clusters, namely,  

• Agro-Chemical Cluster: Servicing SME’s in the Chemicals and Agro-Processing Sectors
• Technology Station in Chemicals – Tshwane University Of Technology
• Technology Station in Chemicals – Mangosuthu University Of Technology
• Downstream Chemicals Technology Station – Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• Agri-Food Technology Station – Cape Peninsula University Of Technology
• Limpopo Agro-Food Technology Station – University Of Limpopo

• Primary Manufacturing: Servicing SME’s in the Electronics and  Metallurgy industry
• Metal Casting Technology Station – University of Johannesburg
• Technology Station in Electronics – Tshwane University Of Technology
• Technology Station in Materials and Processing Technology – Vaal University Of Technology

• Secondary Manufacturing: Servicing SME’s in the Clothing and Textile and Automotive industry
• Automotive Components Technology Station – Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University of Technology
• Technology Station in Clothing and Textile – Cape Peninsula University Of Technology
• Technology Station in Reinforced and Moulded Plastics – Durban University Of Technology
• Product Development Technology Station – Central University Of Technology

• Tooling Cluster: Servicing SME’s in the Tooling and Automotive Sectors.
• Institute for Advanced Tooling – University of Stellenbosch(Stellenbosch)
• Institute for Advanced Tooling – Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria)
• Institute for  Advanced Tooling – Walter Sisulu University (East London)

One of the significant successes of Tshumisano Trust is the establishment of the new Technology Station in Agro-Food Processing in the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus. The Technology Station has already made a significant contribution to the TSP by being involved in indigenous R&D projects in the Limpopo region.

Tshumisano Trust has assisted 4196 SMEs since its inception.  Of these SME’s assisted, Carriage of Hope is amongst them who have received funding from Tshumisano Trust.

The Carriage of Hope is a three in one company. Its divisions are manufacturing, Branding and Recycling and contributes in the creation of jobs and alleviation of poverty. They were assisted by Tshumisano Trust with the development of professional drawings, using Tshwane University of Technology in Soshanguve, in developing their prototypes and patenting all the professional drawings. This is the view from a member of Carriage of Hope regarding Tshumisano Trust’s intervention, “We are happy to say, if it was not for Tshumisano we would have been stuck with our idea without realizing how important our concept is, and how our product is needed in this country” unquote.

Attached are some of the prototypes which Carriage of Hope developed with the help of one of Tshumisano's Technology station in Bloemfontein (Central University of Technology)