Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, May 12-14, 2008

We in Africa must either begin to build our scientific and technological training capabilities or remain an impoverished appendage to the global economy. (H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda).

More than by just spurring economic growth, technology can do much to reduce poverty and environmental damage. It can increase the supply of food and reduce morbidity and mortality, particularly in Africa. It can also increase the supply of water and reduce the intensity of its use in production. And, it can lower the costs and increase the supply of energy to the poor. (Dr. Carl Dahlman, Professor, Georgetown University and former Program Leader, WBI).

Technology development, adaptation, acquisition, and application are among the key factors that determine a country’s economic and social well-being, prospects for poverty reduction, and competitiveness in the global economy.  Within a knowledge economy framework where the pillars of education, innovation, and information and communication technologies (ICT) occupy a central place, technology development is a cross-cutting factor that has profound impact on how a country is able to best fulfill its potential.

Many African countries are historically associated with natural resources and raw materials. Most of the economies have either stagnated or grown slowly. A few have prospered but their lessons are often not easy to extend to others. There is now a growing recognition that Africa can only strengthen its economic performance through considerable investment and use and development of technology.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the role of innovation and technology development has increased significantly over the past decades.  This transformation can be seen not only in the exponential growth of mobile phones, the growing use of computers and consumer electronic goods, and the rise of certain countries such as South Africa that have mainstreamed numerous technology applications into the private and public sectors. 

In fact, the transformation can be illustrated more accurately by examples from many countries: in Rwanda where a country that is based mainly on subsistence farming is investing in improved agricultural techniques, developing centers of science and technology, and attempting to move up the value chain in terms of the quality and certification of such products as coffee and tea; in Uganda where technology is having a high impact in aquaculture and organic farming; and in Kenya where technology is shared within enterprise clusters that produce cut flowers, auto parts, handicrafts, and other industrial products. 

Taken as a whole, these examples demonstrate the increasing vitality of technology and innovation in Africa. However, there are many examples where technology investments in Africa have not been successful. Poor infrastructure and inadequate infrastructure services, lack of human skills and institutions to support the use of technology are important factors in explaining the relative slow progress in many African countries.

For more information, please read the background of the event (PDF, 15Kb)