• What we do
  • The People
  • About Us
  • Why Innovation Africa
  • Contact Us
Innovation AfricaCreating the Future Today
  • Feature Articles
  • Innovation
  • Agriculture
  • ICT
  • Technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health
  • Store
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • Feature Articles
  • Innovation
  • Agriculture
  • ICT
  • Technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health
  • Store
  • Contact Us
  • Shift to applied research ‘key to Africa’s prosperity’

    June 30, 2010 Editor 0

    [ADDIS ABABA] Africa must shift its focus from basic to applied research if it is to transform from poverty to prosperity, a conference in Ethiopia has heard.

    The second Science with Africa Conference — focusing on science, innovation and entrepreneurship — took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week (23–25 June). It examined policies and actions needed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship geared to helping Africa’s development.

    Various presentations claimed that Africa is lagging behind other continents in innovation because of overemphasis on basic research — conducted solely for information gathering and building on existing knowledge — instead of urgently needed applied research, which is geared towards the resolution of a particular question.

    “Africa doesn’t need research to learn about how something works, we need studies into the origins of the problems and recommendations of realistic solutions,” said Umar Buba Bindir, director general of the Nigerian National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, in his keynote address.

    A spirit of information-sharing among nations and national agencies, which could influence innovative behaviour and performance, is also lacking, he said. “Right now, coordination of government agencies and private actors is difficult, complex and undermined by vested interests.”

    “The traditional linear approach to innovation has been challenged,” said Anne Kingiri, a research fellow at the UK-based Department for International Development’s Research into Use Programme. “It is time to move from building science and technology capacity towards building innovation capacity.”

    As latecomers African nations need innovation policies and institutions that are relevant, including technological capability, technical progress and imported know-how, she said.

    Ousmane Kane, a research fellow at the National Academy of Science and Technology of Senegal, proposed that governments should prioritise science, technology and innovation, and allocate more funds for education and the publicising of research findings and technology applications.

    “Knowledge is the main driving force of world economies and the basis of socio-economic development,” Kane said. “Unless people are informed about innovation, they cannot advance.”

    Research should be geared towards the development of technologies that communities can use to add value in practical and immediate ways, said Kane. Technological innovations should target users’ social conditions, and be clear and concise, he added.

    In line with these views, the conference saw the launch of The African Science, Technology and Innovation Endowment Fund, along with the African Science to Business Challenge. In addition, the African Technology Development and Transfer Network was launched. This aims to be a platform whose members — small and medium-sized enterprises and institutions — can help solve each others’ technological and non-technological challenges.

    Related Posts

    • Which ICT4D Projects Use Progressive Design Principles?Which ICT4D Projects Use Progressive Design Principles?
    • Identifying Digital Opportunities for African YouthIdentifying Digital Opportunities for African Youth
    • Uncovering hidden structures in massive data collectionsUncovering hidden structures in massive data collections
    • East African dairy farmers using mobile phones to record yieldsEast African dairy farmers using mobile phones to record yields
    • Findings from the African Mobile Observatory Report 2011 (GSMA/A.T.KEARNEY)
    • Tea Dance of Open InnovationTea Dance of Open Innovation
    Sovrn
    Share

    Categories: Innovation

    Financial constraints and innovation: Why poor countries don’t catch up Discovering Africa’s drug potential

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

Subscribe to our stories


 

Recent Posts

  • Entrepreneurial Alertness, Innovation Modes, And Business Models in Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises December 30, 2021
  • The Strategic Role of Design in Driving Digital Innovation June 10, 2021
  • Correction to: Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control June 10, 2021
  • BRIEF FOCUS: Optimal spacing for groundnuts in smallholder farming systems June 9, 2021
  • COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa June 9, 2021

Categories

Archives

Popular Post-All time

  • A review on biomass-based... 1k views
  • Can blockchain disrupt ge... 762 views
  • Apply Now: $500,000 for Y... 755 views
  • Prize-winning projects pr... 716 views
  • Test Your Value Propositi... 688 views

Recent Posts

  • Entrepreneurial Alertness, Innovation Modes, And Business Models in Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises
  • The Strategic Role of Design in Driving Digital Innovation
  • Correction to: Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control
  • BRIEF FOCUS: Optimal spacing for groundnuts in smallholder farming systems
  • COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa
  • Explicit knowledge networks and their relationship with productivity in SMEs
  • Intellectual property issues in artificial intelligence: specific reference to the service sector
  • Africa RISING publishes a livestock feed and forage production manual for Ethiopia
  • Transforming crop residues into a precious feed resource for small ruminants in northern Ghana
  • Photo report: West Africa project partners cap off 2020 with farmers field day events in Northern Ghana and Southern Mali

Tag Cloud

    africa African Agriculture Business Business model Business_Finance Company Crowdsourcing data Development East Africa economics Education Entrepreneur entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship ethiopia ghana Health_Medical_Pharma ict Information technology Innovation kenya knowledge Knowledge Management Leadership marketing mobile Mobile phone nigeria Open innovation Organization Research rwanda science Science and technology studies social enterprise social entrepreneurship south africa Strategic management strategy tanzania Technology Technology_Internet uganda

Categories

Archives

  • A review on biomass-based hydrogen production for renewable energy supply 1k views
  • Can blockchain disrupt gender inequality? 762 views
  • Apply Now: $500,000 for Your Big Data Innovations in Agriculture 755 views
  • Prize-winning projects promote healthier eating, smarter crop investments 716 views
  • Test Your Value Proposition: Supercharge Lean Startup and CustDev Principles 688 views

Copyright © 2005-2020 Innovation Africa Theme created by PWT. Powered by WordPress.org