The Importance Of Innovation In Africa

The emphasis of international actors on innovation is mirrored at the national level where the majority of countries in Africa have adopted relevant STI policies. The African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (2013) has identified at least 37 countries out of 55 that have adopted or are developing a national innovation policy. There are many African countries that have realized the importance of innovation for economic development, poverty reduction and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (World Bank 2009, 4).
Moreover, African leaders dedicated the 2007 African Union Summit to “discussing ways of promoting the application of science and technology for development” (World Bank 2009, 4). And their interest in these …show more content…
This lack of trust appears to have multiple causes. On one hand is the reliance on foreign export and suspicion of local innovation; on the other is the lack of experience by industry in dealing with university. An informant from Namibia believes that the general population in Africa tends to prefer imported goods and ideas at the expense of local products and innovations. Also supporting this view is a Ghanaian research development officer who laments the case of an innovator in her country struggling to get the attention of the public and industry. She believes that one reason for this lack of trust in local products is that innovations in Africa are not sophisticated, even though they are aimed at solving basic but essential problems. Industry seems reluctant to enter in long-term relationships with universities, not only because of the costs involved, but also because of a lack of confidence in universities. There are very few cases of successful innovations and contribution of academics to the economic sector. A South African informant argues that academics have to constantly battle negative perceptions of local university research