Creating Systems of Innovation in Africa

Creating Systems of Innovation in Africa
Author: Mammo Muchie
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 079830345X

The most popularised concept in the economics of innovation literature has been the national system of innovation (NSI). It was in the late 1980s that the concept that Frederik List coined as the National Political Economy of Production took off again with different thinkers writing about the peculiarities and distinctions of the Japanese, American, British, German, East Asian Tigers and other varieties of system construction. Freeman defines National System of Innovation as the network of institutions in the public and private sectors whose activities and interactions initiate, import, modify and diff use new technologies. Richard Nelson defines it as a set of institutions whose interactions determine the innovative performance of national firms. Lundvall defines the system of innovation as the elements and relationships which interact in the production, diffusion and use of new and economically useful knowledge and are either located within or rooted inside the borders of a nation state. The normative assumption is that those nations that succeeded in building economic strength relied on the science, engineering, technology and innovation capability that made them to achieve an innovation advantage to put them ahead in the world, acquiring national or regional economic leadership as the case may be depending on what level of analyses is selected to look at particular failure, success or progress they made. In this volume we have a glimpse of how in different African economies from Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria specific cases have been taken to explore how systems of innovation is evolving.

What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa?

What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa?
Author: Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2017-06-16
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0262533901

Explorations of science, technology, and innovation in Africa not as the product of “technology transfer” from elsewhere but as the working of African knowledge. In the STI literature, Africa has often been regarded as a recipient of science, technology, and innovation rather than a maker of them. In this book, scholars from a range of disciplines show that STI in Africa is not merely the product of “technology transfer” from elsewhere but the working of African knowledge. Their contributions focus on African ways of looking, meaning-making, and creating. The chapter authors see Africans as intellectual agents whose perspectives constitute authoritative knowledge and whose strategic deployment of both endogenous and inbound things represents an African-centered notion of STI. “Things do not (always) mean the same from everywhere,” observes Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga, the volume's editor. Western, colonialist definitions of STI are not universalizable. The contributors discuss topics that include the trivialization of indigenous knowledge under colonialism; the creative labor of chimurenga, the transformation of everyday surroundings into military infrastructure; the role of enslaved Africans in America as innovators and synthesizers; the African ethos of “fixing”; the constitutive appropriation that makes mobile technologies African; and an African innovation strategy that builds on domestic capacities. The contributions describe an Africa that is creative, technological, and scientific, showing that African STI is the latest iteration of a long process of accumulative, multicultural knowledge production. Contributors Geri Augusto, Shadreck Chirikure, Chux Daniels, Ron Eglash, Ellen Foster, Garrick E. Louis, D. A. Masolo, Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga, Neda Nazemi, Toluwalogo Odumosu, Katrien Pype, Scott Remer

Developing National Systems of Innovation

Developing National Systems of Innovation
Author: Eduardo Albuquerque
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2015-01-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1784711101

Interactions between firms and universities are key building blocks of innovation systems. This book focuses on those interactions in developing countries, presenting studies based on fresh empirical material prepared by research teams in 12 countries

Innovation for Development in Africa

Innovation for Development in Africa
Author: Jussi S. Jauhiainen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2019-11-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 100073000X

This book uncovers the many ways in which innovations and innovation system development policies have become crucial to development policy formation across Africa. As new instruments, actors and tools emerge in development cooperation, the role of innovation in the societal development of developing countries needs to be addressed fully. This book delves into subjects as diverse as the changing development policies between the Global North and South, the role of innovation in international aid and development policies, the role of public, private and non-governmental sectors, universities and other development actors, and the potential for inclusive innovation in local communities. In particular, the book asks who benefits from innovation-focussed development policies, and if and how practical innovation instruments include the global poor. Written in an accessible and engaging style, the book includes a range of discussion questions and further reading suggestions to suit a range of readers, from students right through to policy makers and practitioners, or anyone else looking for an introduction to innovation policies and development in Africa.

Innovation Africa

Innovation Africa
Author: Olugbenga Adesida
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2016-03-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1785603108

This book contains a number of case studies that examine the nature and origins of emerging high-end innovation hubs in Africa. It analyses, highlights and draws lessons from some of the most promising and successful innovation cases in Africa today, exploring the key factors driving their successful emergence, growth and future prospects.

The Informal Economy in Developing Nations

The Informal Economy in Developing Nations
Author: Erika Kraemer-Mbula
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2016-10-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107157544

This pioneering study offers a conceptual model and rich empirical evidence to help researchers and policy-makers understand informal innovation in developing countries.

Social Innovation In Africa

Social Innovation In Africa
Author: Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2016-07-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317294270

Encouraged by the emergence and early impact of social innovators on the African Continent, but frustrated by the slow pace of large scale change, this book is focused on filling the knowledge gap for those tackling Africa’s serious social problems. It lays out the required building blocks for achieving scale at impact. By creating clear mission, vision, and values statements and piloting and rolling out business models that are demand-driven, simple, and low-cost, with compelling measurement and evaluation tools that leverage technology. It also explores the steps for attracting and retaining talent and financing and forming strategic partnerships with the private, public and non-profit sectors to foster scaling. Practical case studies provide inspiration for those who seek to become innovators or to be employed by them. Finally, it outlines the crucial steps for key stakeholders to take in order to support the emergence of more social innovators on the African continent, create an enabling environment for the scaling of high-impact initiatives and advance collective efforts to build stronger communities for current and future generations. This is a practical and inspirational guide for all entrepreneurs and individuals that seek to combine business and social goals and for those in the public, private and non-profit sectors that aim to foster and support these projects.

Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa

Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa
Author: Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka
Publisher: UNU
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This book examines the incidence and role of clusters as a viable and increasingly important form of industrial organization in Africa. It presents a series of theoretically grounded case studies that analyze clusters in different industrial sectors and at different levels of economic development. The overall aim is to improve understanding of how local clusters can be transformed into local systems of innovation and how local clusters can be better connected to global actors. The authors draw out implications for policy and practice and provide guidance to governments, private sector associations, and non-governmental organizations.--Publisher's description.

The New Harvest

The New Harvest
Author: Calestous Juma
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2015
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190237236

African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa can feed itself in a generation and can help contribute to global food security. To achieve this Africa has to define agriculture as a force in economic growth by advancing scientific and technological research, investing in infrastructure, fostering higher technical training, and creating regional markets.

Innovation and the Development Agenda

Innovation and the Development Agenda
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 155
Release: 2010-08-12
Genre:
ISBN: 926408892X

Innovation drives long-term economic growth. This book examines the role of innovation in developing countries, with a focus on Africa.