Soft Landing concepts and services in Southern Africa; How to land softly in emerging markets Benchmarking Finnish Experiences

Science and Technology Parks or Business Parks as they are often referred to are increasingly being established globally as economic drivers. These have become an integral part of economies national systems of innovation. The concept of national innovation systems primarily distinguishes the most significant interactions from the less significant ones in relation to the actors, activities and institutional networks in the process of knowledge creation, diffusion and transfer. The soft landing concept has become synonymous with most Science and Technology Parks and is primarily used to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to cities, countries and regions. Soft landing refers to a process that foreign companies and organisations use to rapidly enter a new market mainly through Science Parks and Business Incubators. Soft landing can be associated with national trade policies, economic growth strategies, fiscal policies, labour laws and industrialisation strategies. Soft landing packages include among others advice on marketing, HR, legal, accounting and book keeping issues. Generally, STPs form partnerships that allow provision of soft landing services into their environments by national and regional organisations.