Knowledge & innovation in Africa: scenarios for the future

Abstract

This book is the product of three years of literature reviews, expert interviews and scenario-building exercises by the Open African Innovation Research and Training (Open A.I.R.) network, which has members in 14 African countries. The authors trace the contours of knowledge and innovation in Africa from the founding civilisations to today’s current realities, and then set out the drivers of change that can be expected to shape innovation systems on the continent between now and the year 2035. The volume then offers three plausible scenarios – elements of which are likely to emerge in various settings on the continent in the short- to medium-term. Each scenario raises different issues for control of, and access to, knowledge in Africa. The key insight for policymakers, business leaders, scholars and civil society is that the question is not whether intellectual property (IP) rights will be relevant in the future, but rather which rights will be most important in different scenarios.