Africa is on the rise and opportunities are emerging daily as foreign direct investment flows and the middle class continues to expand. Besides commodities, growths in finance, retail, ICT and manufacturing are transforming African cities. In industrial sectors and cities, frontiers are forming, and together they will define Africa’s future competitiveness, productivity and innovation capabilities. […]
9.1 – Building Innovation Ecosystems
Though six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa[1], the youth unemployment hovers around 60% of the total unemployed Africans. To absorb new entrants into the labor market, the continent must create at least 95 million new jobs by 2020 and another 160 million by 2030[2]. Reliance on minerals and hydrocarbons […]
9.0 – Strategies for Innovation-Economy
The asymmetry between high youth unemployment in Africa and buoyant economic statistics posits a big challenge to the long-term sustainability of the continent. Some parts of the continent are environmentally stressed, unstable with political risks thereby questioning the utility and durability of any roadmap which can be envisioned to build an innovation system in the […]
8.2 – Sustaining an Innovation-Economy
Africa is not utilizing the talents and capacities of its youth. World Bank reports that the youth accounts for 60% of all unemployed Africans and that the region needs excess of 95 million new jobs by 2020, and another 160-million by 2030 to get these young people working[1]. Also, in some countries, mass-scale innovation in […]
8.1 – The Opportunities
On its quest to become an innovation-oriented economy, Africa has the following opportunities which if appropriately used will make the transition easier. An innovation-oriented economy is one where ideas are created to meet the needs of people, even at competitive cost models. It means Africans leading the way in addressing their needs and making their […]