South Africa was still largely perceived as an adopter rather than innovator of technology, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande says.
Despite its relatively small economy, South Africa had over the years achieved global recognition for contributions to technological innovation, he said in a speech prepared for delivery at a technology conference in Vanderbijlpark.
Many of these achievements, however, were made in other countries.
South Africa was ranked 39th out of 162 countries in terms of technological achievement.
"It is clear that we are still largely perceived as an adopter rather than innovator of technology," Nzimande said.
"To retain our global player status, we must do more to augment the imported and implanted technologies with technologies developed in South Africa.
"We must also develop technologies which others are keen to import from us."
In coming decades, the intellectual property of South Africa was going to be a fundamental ingredient of competitiveness.
"Clearly we need to do a great deal more to create and sustain competitive advantage in the international market place."