Lack of coherent national innovation policies hindering innovation in Africa
Closing the technology and innovation gap in Africa has been hampered by the lack of coherent national innovation policies including appropriate regulatory frameworks and incentive regimes, panelists at the ongoing 9th Africa Economic Conference in Addis Ababa have said. During the plenary session on the “Role of research and innovation in enhancing productivity and competitiveness in Africa”, participants noted that lack of strategic public-private partnerships on education and skills development, and insufficient policies aimed at enhancing the availability of venture capital in Africa continues to undermine its efforts to bridge the innovation gap. Panelists and participants also underscored that each country should develop a coherent innovation strategy with a clear roadmap based on its specific reality and situation to facilitate monitoring progress. They emphasized the need to not only have a targeted approach but also streamline policy priorities to improve coherence and reduce duplication. Participants also noted that the pace of skills and technology development and innovation has been slow in Africa mainly because of the lack of a large university-educated skilled labor force, high quality laboratories and scientific equipment, the availability of long-term finance, strong private sector initiative and managerial capacity.
| Format: | Press release biblioteca |
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| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
2014-11
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10855/35404 |
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