Webinar: Innovation under the radar: African experience and the way forward

A group of African scholars have investigated the nature, drivers and sources of innovation in Africa, and their work has been packaged in a book “Innovation under the radar – the nature and sources of innovation in Africa”. This book pioneered by Prof. Fu examines the channels for effective diffusion of innovation in and to Africa under institutional, resource and affordability constraints. Through a systematic, rigorous, pioneering field research, the book finds that African firms are innovative but unsupported. Those ‘under-the-radar’ innovations that widely exist in Africa as a result of the constraints are not sufficient to enable Africa to leapfrog the innovation gap in the era of the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Relevant policy responses at the national and international levels are therefore needed to address these challenges and to build an inclusive global community.

Inspired by the research pursued by these scholars, AfricaLics is partnering with the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD), Department of International Development University of Oxford, to inspire a conversation on the “innovation under the radar: experiences from Africa” towards identification of gaps in theory and policy for Africa. Prof. Xiaolan Fu will share her thoughts about this topic, in line with the global dynamics that are shaping the African innovation diffusion pathways. She will draw on case studies from the Book. Discussants who have been drawn based on their expertise in this field will add their voice to the discussion, thereby setting the pace for a wider discussion during the webinar.

The webinar will culminate into launching of the Book that has been lauded as “offering important insights for scholars studying innovation and development; and original ideas for policy makers in charge of preparing Africa for the digital future” by Prof. Bengt Ake Lundvall.

Find out more and register here: https://www.africalics.org/event/webinar-series-innovation-under-the-radar-african-experience-and-the-way-forward/