WILL Africa be the next global success story in innovation? This is the question that over 200 selected thought leaders from 25 countries across the world were gathered in Kenya's Rift Valley earlier this week to address. The aim of the first- ever Open Innovation Africa Summit (OIAS) was to stimulate critical thinking about the role of innovation in sustainable socio-economic development and to contribute to creating a conducive environment for innovative entrepreneurial activity in Africa. The summit aimed to generate actionable ideas and recommendations for the gathered public policy specialists, researchers, entrepreneurs, ICT experts and financiers to take forward in their respective contexts for positive social impact. The summit was designed as a unique, three- day dialogue of critical minds and change agents intended to contribute to external dialogue and action on social innovation at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Delegates have identified a number of key issues for in- depth discussion including the need to create sustainable systems in the knowledge economy, heightened focus on research and development capacity building, and the role of broader local, regional and international partnerships among all stakeholders as basic steps to catalyse new, demand-driven innovations to improve the quality of life in Africa. Delegates have also highlighted the role of government in creating an enabling environment to foster innovation, ensuring continuity and predictability at the public institution level for continued knowledge development. Leveraging technology to deliver public and private services to the underserved was one of the key themes for discussion at the summit. Considering that Africa has the highest penetration growth rate for mobile phones in the world, the role of mobile technology in building an information ecosystem was also central in discussions at the summit. Currently, many countries in Africa are enjoying improved economic growth with some countries achieving as much as 12 per cent GDP growth annually. There is increased investment and an increasingly attractive business environment. The completion and operation of many submarine fibre optic cables linking Africa to the rest of the world has made more bandwidth available at significantly reduced prices making information more accessible to many more people. This also presents a valuable opportunity for young people to be heard and participate in development through information and ideas- sharing and entrepreneurship. Still, some key considerations remain in order to achieve a robust information society and knowledge economy; content and human capital issues need to be addressed. Ensuring an enabling environment is pivotal to harnessing the power of innovations and developing a culture of technological entrepreneurship. Africa must also harness the immense human capital that it boasts. This was another key discussion point for the summit. In many ways, the situation in this area is grim; currently, 32 million children in Africa are out of school and 59 per cent will never get the chance to enrol. Africa needs about 2.4 million teachers by 2015 and there is need to bridge the huge teachers' training gap through innovative learning methods. This is in keeping with the global 'Education for All' goals.
