Innovation and Research and Development are often addressed as interchangeable concepts and having causal relationships. The definition of Research and development (R&D) as “comprising creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase knowledge and to devise new applications of already available knowledge” by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 2015) may espouse an impression that Innovation is invariably a corollary to R&D.

However, authors have endeavoured to correct the longstanding misconception of R&D and Innovation and also challenge the assumption that having a huge R&D investment automatically translates to a breakthrough with innovation or market success.

In a article, titled; The Quest for Innovation: Addressing User Needs and Value Creation found in a collection by Hugo Campos Editor focussed in agricultural innovation and revolution, authors admitted the difference between R&D and Innovation could actually be a cause of misunderstandings, as well as conceptual, practical, and very expensive mistakes. They gave the following remarks:

“Though in theory, corporate R&D spending relates to increased innovation and the growth of revenues and profits, that’s not always the case. The magnitude of R&D expenditures is only moderately related to the number of innovative products/services launched or even those that gain high market share and profits.
The authors also stated this; “to some extent, confusing R&D and innovation arises from a narrow, technology-driven stance on innovation”. According to them:

“Innovation, by default, encompasses a much wider scope than R&D…Innovation involves three diverse capabilities which includes; discovery, incubation, and acceleration.

“In many cases, the resources, investments, and time required during the incubation and acceleration stages far exceed those needed to develop technologies in the first place.

“Indeed, within profit-seeking firms, R&D and market success are two different things” the authors further noted, citing evidences from a previous study.

Strategy& – a business unit within PricewaterhouseCoopers – was unable to find a statistically significant relationship between R&D spending and sustained financial success when it analyzed the top 1,000 most innovative companies over 12 years.

Spending on R&D was also found to be unrelated to growth in sales or profits. Moreover, the top 10 most innovative companies are rarely the top 10 spenders on R&D.

The table below depicts innovative companies in relation to their R&D spending:

Regarding the characteristics that separate the most innovative companies from less innovative ones, the article enumerate the following aspects of more innovative companies:

• Close alignment between innovation and business strategy

• Company-wide cultural support for innovation

• Close involvement by leadership with innovation programs

• Deep understanding of insights from end-users.

YouTube, online global streaming site has announced its expansion efforts to support creators and the creative economy in Africa with $20,000 and $50,000 respectively through the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices creators and artist cohorts.

This, according to the Vanguard, was made known in a statement made on Tuesday by Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA. The YouTube official said the initiative from YouTube was a follow-up to a global, multi-year commitment made in 2020.

Mr Okosi stated that the grant was intended to uplift and grow Black creators, artists, songwriters, and producers on the platform, also adding that participant joining in this year’s cohort would go beyond the initial training to measure success with them over a long-term period. According to him, YouTube is seriously interested in the growth of the creative community in Africa.

The MD of YouTube EMEA disclosed this: 40 creators from Sub-Saharan Africa would be part of the 135 #YouTubeBlack Voices Creators selected globally, and among the 23 #YouTubeBlack Voices Artists selected for the programme were African fast-rising musical artists, Gyakie from Ghana, Kamo Mphela from South Africa, Asake from Nigeria and BNXN from Nigeria. He said, “grantees will receive $20,000 and $50,000 in seed funding.”

”We are excited about the creators, musical artists and producers from Africa joining others from across the world in the 2023 #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

‘’The initiative is dedicated to equipping up-and-coming Black creators and artists with the resources to succeed on our platform,” he said.

It was further stated that the artists, songwriters, and producers joining the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2023 would be required to set goals, develop content strategy, and engage with their fans on YouTube, with the assistance of a YouTube partner manager. Mr. Okosi also stated there will be networking opportunities with other artists, songwriters, and producers included in the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.

According to Mr. Kosi, over the next few years, YouTube would be directly investing in more than 500 creators and artists from across the world. He said: “It is to support, grow, and fund their channels and content development through the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund”.

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The World Bank’s investment arm, the International Financial Corporation (IFC), has launched a new $225 million platform to strengthen venture capital ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies addressing development challenges through technological innovations in climate, health care, education, agriculture, e-commerce, and other sectors.

The fund is to help build the digital economy in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan. These regions, compared to others, receive less funding to develop their digital investments.

The IFC said that these regions collectively received less than 2% of $643 billion of global venture capital funding last year. The corporation added that access to capital has been exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment, the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in food and supply chain costs, higher interest rates, and currency depreciation. In addition, tech ecosystems are nascent or even nonexistent outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, and South Africa.

In a press statement below, the IFC said the regions have enormous potential for economic growth that it is counting on, in collaboration with investment capital firms, to bet the huge capital on the regions.

The growth potential, however, is enormous across these regions. In Africa, for example, the digital economy has the potential to contribute $712 billion to the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050. In the Middle East and North Africa, technology could boost GDP by 40%, or $1.6 trillion, and create 1.5 million manufacturing jobs in the next 30 years. In Pakistan, the digital transformation can unlock up to $59.7 billion in annual economic value by 2030, equivalent to about 19% of the country’s GDP.

“Support for entrepreneurship and digital transformation is essential to economic growth, job creation, and resilience,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC’s Managing Director. “IFC’s Venture Capital Platform will help tech companies and entrepreneurs expand during a time of capital shortage, creating scalable investment opportunities and backing countries’ efforts to build transformative tech ecosystems. We want to help develop homegrown innovative solutions that are not only relevant to emerging countries but can also be exported to the rest of the world.”

The platform aims to strengthen the regions’ nascent venture capital markets, which have demonstrated early growth potential but face challenging global economic conditions. IFC will make equity or equity-like investments in tech startups and help them grow into scalable ventures that can attract mainstream equity and debt financing.

IFC will also use the platform to collaborate with other teams in the World Bank Group to create and bolster venture capital ecosystems through regulatory reforms, sector analyses, and other tools. The platform will also focus on investments in low-income and fragile countries and help generate a pipeline of credible early-stage companies.

The platform will build on IFC’s investments and efforts to build tech ecosystems in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan through initiatives such as the IFC Startup Catalyst Program. IFC has invested in companies like Twiga Foods, a Kenyan-based technology food distribution platform; TradeDepot, an e-commerce startup connecting international brands with African retailers; and Toters, a leading on-demand delivery platform in Lebanon and Iraq.

The platform will be backed by an additional $50 million from the Blended Finance Facility of the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window, which helps de-risk investments in low-income countries. In addition, IFC will mobilize capital from other development institutions and the private sector to support entrepreneurs and tech companies in those countries.