The Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr. Carlos Lopes, has said that the continent could measure up with its human resource training to offer technical skills, as a continent capable of reinventing itself.
DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that Lopes noted that this promote linkages between businesses and educational institutes, which he described as valuable for inserting Africa into the higher end of global value chains, by African Union (AU) members focusing on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
Lopes in his blog post also said that Africa can invent by leapfrogging in unsuspected areas, through lessons which could be drawn from Brazil’s success over the last four decades. According to him, approximated 80 per cent of the top Brazilian universities have at least one incubator, and many are involved in the establishment of science & technology parks, creating closer linkages across the academic world with industry.
Second, Africa’s STI advances have to face a more regulated space than others had when they made their jump. Intellectual property rights have evolved so much that today they are anything but friendly to new entrants.
“Protecting indigenous knowledge systems, practices, innovations and technologies, are no longer enough. A much higher ambition is necessary to insert Africa in the global value chains and propel the continent to acquire new technologies,” he said.
Thirdly, he said, a number of conditions will determine whether Africa could lead a technological revolution, including adequate financing, strengthening linkages with research and academic institutions; access to qualified human resources; and access to reliable infrastructure such as communications, energy and transport.
“Without adequate infrastructure, further technological and scientific developments are simply not possible,” he said.
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