Kenya has been ranked as top innovative country in Africa

Mnairobi

JF-Expert Member
Oct 27, 2007
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[CAPE TOWN] Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia have emerged as the top innovators of Africa in a report on the continent's competitiveness launched last week.

The three countries — which scored highly on ratings of their scientific capacity — are on a par with such innovative countries as Brazil and India, according to The Africa Competitiveness Report 2009, produced by the World Economic Forum, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Africa.

In a league table that included 33 African countries, and 134 countries overall, Tunisia ranked thirtieth for innovation factors (and first in Africa); South Africa thirty-sixth (second) and Kenya fiftieth (third).

"These countries have high-quality scientific research institutions, invest strongly in research and development, and are characterised by a significant level of collaboration between business and universities in research," said the report, which was launched at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, last week (9 June).

Egypt, Nigeria and Senegal also appeared in the top half of the international innovation rankings "demonstrating the existing potential for innovation in Africa", said the report.

Innovation is just one of 12 "pillars" of competitiveness compiled by the authors using data from a variety of sources.

The report says that the ability to innovate does not become crucial to a country's success until it is striving to achieve the third of three "levels" of development — "factor-driven", "efficiency-driven", and "innovation-driven" respectively. Countries in the top category need to devote 30 per cent of their resources to innovation.

"As productivity increases, countries reach a point where further competiveness can't be gained by being cheaper or doing things better and this is where countries need to focus on being innovative," Jennifer Blanke, senior economist for the World Economic Forum and one of the authors of the report, told SciDev.Net.

The report allocates no African country to the third, innovation-driven phase or the transition from the second, efficiency-driven to the innovation-driven stage. Algeria, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Tunisia are in the efficiency-driven phase, while Botswana, Libya and Morocco are in transition from factor-driven to efficiency-driven.

The other African countries in the survey are all in stage one but their low ranking in terms of innovation "should not be of significant concern at this stage given the importance of focusing on the more basic areas for improvement first".

In terms of overall competitiveness Tunisia was the top African country, ranked thirty-sixth down from thirty-second in the previous year's report. South Africa was the top country in Sub-Saharan Africa at forty-fifth down one position year-on-year but maintaining the same score, ahead of India in fiftieth position and followed by Botswana (fifty-sixth), Mauritius (fifty-seventh), Namibia (eightieth) and ahead of Egypt in eighty-first place.

For more info check:
Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia top innovation poll - SciDev.Net

The East African:  - Comment |Why high-crime Kenya is EA's innovation king
 
Sure, I agree with you, Kenyans are smart. Tanzania always get what has been invented in Kenya, be it locally are from other countries through Kenya!

Bravo Kenya!

Please Awake the sleeping giant in your Southern Boarder!
 
hongera sana KENYA! jana nikasikia BBC wachina wamefunguwa TAWI rasmi kituo chao kikubwa cha television CCTV hapo NAI...
 
bravo kenyans... kesho nitamtafuta rafiki yangu mmoja mkenya tupate chang'aa kidogo kusherehekea mafanikio
 
Thumbs up for this one I can see why Kenya could be rated high for their innovative ambitions, beside Mzungu's input 'Kenyan' scholars put alot of effort in coming up with better ways to improve and innovate their every sector. I remember watching a documentary not long ago about this 'BioTech' Proffesor who invented a method on how to manipulate the tissues that produce banana plants in her lab. Only to improve the plants and be able to resist some sort of bacterias that attacks them.

I think her innovation as received world wide acknowlegement, keep it up. We need examples to imitate in Africa and if they happen to be from our next door neighbour the better.
 
I wish hii ingekuwa achievement ya bongo tungesahau yote muhimu kufanya kuhusu maendeleo na ku-embark on discussing this. Ah basi bahati nzuri c achievement ya bongo, tungeitumia kwenye kampeni na kuifanyia hafla kule Ngurdoto LODGE kujipongeza.
 
Good job Kenya, as 4 us bongo, we are busy politicking and busy with the old politics!
 
Ni kweli Wa Kenya wako juu lazima tukubali, nimefanya nao kazi kwa miaka kadhaa wako serious na kazi: Sisi wabongo kila siku mtu anachelewa kuja kazini, leo atakuambia mtoto alikuwa anaumwa, kesho atasema samahani nili oversleep jana nilikuwa kitchen party ya rafiki ya mtoto wa shangazi ya mama mkubwa, kesho kutwa atadai aondoke mapema anawahi kikao cha harusi, yaani basi tu...... we really need to change.
Mabosi ndio kabisa nao shida tu, mafungu yote ya ofisi anahamishia kwenye akaunti yake, gari la ofisi linafanya kazi ya kumpeleka mke wake saluni, shoping.... just disgusting!
 
Hongera Wakenya kwa mafanikio.Hii ni changamoto kwetu wabongo.
 
Not a surprise at all! Wakenya walishaona umuhimu wa elimu miaka mingi liyopita. Wamekuwa wanaendesha harambee kusomesha watoto wao sehemu mbalimbali duniani. Sisi mpaka leo tunachothamini ni michango ya harusi na kitchen party...ukiwaalika ndugu na jamaa kwa ajili ya kuchangia gharama za masomo ya mwanao nina hakika watanzania watakaokuchangia ni wachache mno...lakini kama ni harusi watajitokeza kibao! Tatizo letu hatujui wapi tuweke kipaumbele kwa maendeleo ya jamii na taifa kwa ujumla.
 
Kuna Mkenya nafanya nae kazi anawahi kazini masaa matatu kabla ya muda wa kazi na kuondoka lisaa baada ya muda a kazi. Dah huyo Mama ni noma na ni mchapa wa kazi saana. Mwanzoni tulmshangaa ila sasa tunamuelewa. Big up our neighbours.
 
Hii haina ubishi, nadhani Kenya hawataki ubabaishaji, ndiyo maana walipoibiwa kura walipigana kwa nguvu, lakini Tanzania tunayamaza eti kwa sababu ya amani huku tuna uongozi usiofanya kazi, dhahabu yetu yote inakwenda nje wakati sisi tunabaki na mashimo, na wala hatusemi kitu. Ndiyo maana nimekuwa cautious sana na hii EAC kwa sababu Kenywa walishaplani kufaidikia nayo wakati Tanzania hakuna anayejua kinachoenedelea. Tanzania imeburuzwa kuingia humo kwa manufaa ya Kenya hasa kwa vile viongozi wetu ni mbumbumbu; hata wabunge wetu kule EALA ni vipunga na opportunist tu. Kuna watu wana PHD za kununua eti ndio wanaoutuwakilisha kupanga mambo ya EAC wakati Kenya nina wasiwasi imewakilishawa na watu makini sana.

Research institutions haziwezi kufanya kazi kama hakuna research funding na dedicated researchers. Kwetu leo pesa za research zinapatikana kibababishaji tu, na researchers wenyewe wanahangaika kufungua miradi yao binafsi hata wanapopata research funds ndogo zilizopo. Researchers wengine kama akina REDET wanapika data ili waweze kupata pesa za serikali. Kama Tanzania ingejenga utaratibu mzuri wa ku-reward researchers kati ya mwaka 1980 had leo, basi nchi hii ingekuea imeendelea sana kwani kutokana na uhaba wa bidhaa wakati huo, kulitokea watu innovative sana waliofanya tafiti mbali mbali kukabiliana na matatizo hayo kukiwa na projetcs za ku-recycle karatasi, kutengeza sabuni kutokana na utonvu wa mimea mbalimbali, kutengeza sukari kwa gharama nafuu, kutegeneza umeme kwa kutumia vyoo vya shimo, kutengeza lami kutokana na makaa ya miti fulani na mambo mengine mengi ambayo yalizimika ghafla. Hakuna shaka kuwa hata kiwanda Nyumbu kimekufa au kiko ICU. Kuna rafiki yangu mmja pale alikuwa anaitwa Major (wakati huo) Mashauri ambaye alikuwa amesomea automtive engineering kule Ireland, alikuwa mkali sana wa engine design, lakini sijui leo anafanya nini.
 
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