Innovation in Africa. How to know we are making progress and how it can take on the world.
Africa's rise has become a widely discussed international policy topic in this period of miserable economic forecasts.
The far-reaching optimism about the continent’s economic prospects is further reinforced by research projections that the continent will grow faster than the world average.
The subject of the growth, however, has been a source of discomfort among African leaders. They worry that this growth is interrelated to a boom in commodity attributed to China’s demand.
Amidst all these, there is need for Africa to foster technology-based business incubation. Among the areas that require attention include, supporting start-ups. Already there are good examples of this across Africa, which include initiatives such as M-PESA launched in Kenya about 12 year ago, and arguably the most successful financial product in the world.
Other impressive innovations disrupting the continent include Fydor invented by Nigerian molecular biologist, a product that can detect malaria within 25 minutes. Another is Vula mobile developed by South African etymologist.
Other innovative apps range from M-Kopa-an expansion of M-Pesa used in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to generate solar electricity for domestic purposes and, of course, to recharge cell phones, a South African start-up called Livestock Wealth, used to buy and sell cows.
Speaking on the Rise Of Innovation in Africa, organized by the TED Talk, Nnamdi Oranye believes Africa is the epitome of innovation that fails to be documented on books. Oranye is the founder of the Disrupting Africa Encyclopedia, an online platform dedicated to identifying the 30 million Africans who can change the narrative and legacy of Africa.
He says, “You only need 17 visionaries to disrupt Africa, but today I have only come about one. My life’s mission is to find other 16and when we find them, the only job is to ensure we support them promote them, give them the services they need so as to move Africa forward.”
The next frontier of policy focus for the continent should be scaling up new businesses.
The success of innovation in Africa will require policy focus and change-management capacity among African leaders at the continental, national and sub-national levels and long-term vision.
Much of the practical action will ensue in sub-national regions such as cities, provinces and counties. This will be achieved through a reliable and clever governance styles that are supported by evidence rather than political rhetoric.
Countries that fail to upgrade their governance systems to reflect the competitive challenges of modern global markets will fall by the wayside.
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