Nairobi — Regional integration has been placed at the centre of Africa's aspirations for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development.
A new report titled 'Assessing Regional Integration in Africa VII: Innovation, Competitiveness and Regional Integration' (ARIA VII), launched in Nairobi at the ongoing 14th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14), provides fascinating insights on how regional integration can foster innovation and competition in African countries.
Prepared jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, this seventh edition of the ARIA posits that regional integration by knitting together networks of institutions, people and markets, generates innovation and related creative activities, positively impacting competitiveness, trade, growth and development.
Innovation can be a driver of growth and structural transformation, and it offers unique opportunities to 'late-developer' countries to leap-frog into new technologies. As innovative capacities grow, competitiveness is enhanced, says the report.
A key to the fulfillment of this potential will be increased investment in building capabilities and skills for innovation, Coordinator, David Luke, of the ECA's African Trade Policy Centre in the Regional Integration and Trade Division, said at the launch.
He said Africa has spent much of the past decade investing in physical infrastructure, but it must not forget the development of human capital.
"Investing in education beyond the primary stages, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) will generate the knowledge base required to facilitate innovation and competitiveness," Mr. Luke said.
As it currently stands, he continued, Africa is lagging behind in terms of graduates, the relevance of the knowledge they acquire and in terms of gender equality in STEM education. Following focused strategies for building human capital, such as followed by India, will be crucial for the leap-frogging process.
In discussions following the presentation of the report, participants agreed with its conclusion.
It was noted that there was a need to have a continental and developmental approach to intellectual property rights, to ensure there are adequate incentives and also space for innovation on the continent.
The need to reform education on the continent was also widely discussed. It was noted that while initiatives on improving human capital had been introduced, such as Centres of Excellence by the East African Community (EAC), there was also a need to rethink the way in which teaching was carried out.
To be able to innovate, students need to not only know the subject matter, but also learn to interrogate and question methods and processes. In addition, it would be important for Africa to build its capacity to benefit from technology transfer, by increasing its capacity to understand and apply more advanced technologies from abroad in its industry.
Other participants emphasised the importance of Africa negotiating a bloc in international negotiations on intellectual property, as well as the importance of support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
