ENTERPRERIAL STI UNIVERITY IN COMESA REGION

Triple Helix Workshop at Stanford University

15th November, 2012 2012

Fred Kong’ong’oCoordinator STI programmefkongongo@comesa.int

3

COMESA Membership

•The 19 Member States of COMESA are:

BurundiComorosCongo, DRDjiboutiEgyptEritreaEthiopiaKenyaLibyaMadagascar

BurundiComorosCongo, DRDjiboutiEgyptEritreaEthiopiaKenyaLibyaMadagascar

MalawiMauritiusRwandaSeychellesSudanSwazilandUgandaZambiaZimbabwe

MalawiMauritiusRwandaSeychellesSudanSwazilandUgandaZambiaZimbabwe

4

FACTS AND FIGURES 79% of Africa’s arable land remains uncultivated– 20% of the earth’s Land Mass – only 6% are cultivated African population has just passed 1 Billion with around 400 Millions of

Youth Enormous Primary Energy sources: Water, hydro, oil/gas, coal, nuclear Renewable Energy sources: Solar, wind, geothermal, ocean waves/tides, bio-

energies 1 sq km of Africa’s desert receives Energy equiv to 1.5 millions barrels of oil

per year-1000 times the world’s entire annual energy As per today Africa is using < 2 % of its hydro and geothermal power

potentials Africa has rich and varied biological Resources The global market value of pharmaceuticals derived from genetic resources is

estimated at US$75 billion to 150 billion annually;Source : Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 2011:”African Agriculture: From Meeting Needs To Creating Wealth”, 2011, Revised

Edition

5

FACTS YOUTH IN AFRICA (a)FACTS YOUTH IN AFRICA (a)

Africa is the most ‘youthful’ continents of the worldAbout 500 Millions of Africa’s population is below the age of 18;

In 2010, Africa is home of 630 Millions of young below the age of 25;

• African Political leadership’s recognition of S&T as a goal to attain MDGs and socio-economic growth-recognised by AU Summit of 2007

• Harness and apply STI for sustainable socio-economic development

• Ensure that Africa contributes to the global pool of scientific knowledge and technological innovations

Importance of STI

Development Entrepreneurial

University in COMESA

Status• Most Universities are funded by Government • Due to funding constraints-created enterprise

development unit-acquiring businesses• Some universities created -running

Businesses through these units• Most do not office of technology transfer• Link to Industry –office Industrial relation

offices for Internship • ICT- based companies –initiated collaborations

with Universities –reduce cost- get human capital

Entrepreneurship• Many starts ups in and outside Universities

due to job shortage• Some remain informal for a long time due to

business environment • Protection to Student’s IP is weak thus link to

established companies weak • Entrepreneurship talk in some Universities• Some Universities have created incubators • Tech companies promoting entrepreneurship

through global competitions

Entrepreneurial Universities • Nokia and Microsoft and Cisco pioneered

Industry-University collaboration in certain countries , Google, HP and IMB have now joined

• Local companies are following • However most Universities do not have a

structured way of dealing with this partnerships

COMESA -What are the Policy

priorities ?

Infrastructure

Cross border investments Infrastructure development

Designated regional STI Centers of excellence

Higher technical education

•Africa inherited education system –designed to produced civil servants

•– Change of mind set and attitude- reform -market focused needed

•Hold VC meeting –collaboration with Africa scholars in Diaspora-share experience

Expand –engineering and science training through South-South, North-South collaboration

Business incubation

•COMESA –working to harmonize Intellectual properly •PPP + Universities –policy •Financial support-creation of Innovation fund-(Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia already have funds- •Mechanism to tap into private sector and NGO funding•Regional and international collaborations

Policy interventions to create entrepreneurial ecosystem

Creation of cross-border networks

Governance

Executive leadership

Structured -STI advice at the highest level of Government

STI advisorat all level of Government

Created COMESA Innovation Council

Flagship products

Regional entrepreneurial ecosystem

Science and technology diplomacy

Summery – Focus harnessing STI for economic development– Created of Innovation Council –tap eminent STI persons to provide advise on STI– Innovation wards at National level -regional level to starts 2013– Capacity building -Executive programme in collaboration with Harvard Kennedy and

others – Designated STI regional Centers of Excellence foster regional and international

collaboration – Promoting creation of innovation funds National and regional level to support

entrepreneurial ecosystem– Promotes of creation of Entrepreneurial Universities-graduate business as well as

students– -Change of attitude -take advantage of the incubation potential of Universities

– Promotion of training of more engineers and scientist - line ministries , private sector institutions

– Tap Diaspora talent to contribute to STI development

– Sharing of University Best Practices regarding innovation entrepreneurship and commercialization

Key Ministerial decisions – tapping into Africans in the Diaspora, vast amount of

knowledge exists among the Diaspora, invite and provide a vehicle for supporting STI parks programs;

– Establish offices of Chief Innovation Advisors as well as broad cross-sectoral national advisory committees to assist harness and provide advice on knowledge and innovations that could be diffused into the economies.

– STI ministries -work closely with related ministries, such as those for infrastructure, Health Agriculture, ICT so that these include research and innovation in their programmes and allocations.

Key Ministerial decisions

– Higher education ministers to promote the creation of technical universities under other line ministries and public corporations. To expand engineering and technical training institutions,

• – On STI indicators- to add creation of new

enterprises incubated by universities, clusters and science parks could be a good measure of progress

There is no reason for There is no reason for COMESA/Africa not to bullish!!COMESA/Africa not to bullish!!

Thank YouThank You

When we aggressively execution When we aggressively execution

Finally

visionary policies visionary policies