Innovation, Regional Integration, and Development in Africa

335 Pages·2019·6.69 MB·English

by  Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba

Advances in African Economic,
Social and Political Development
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba
Mammo Muchie Editors
Innovation, Regional
Integration, and
Development in Africa
Rethinking Theories, Institutions, and
Policies
Advances in African Economic,
Social and Political Development
Series editors
Diery Seck
CREPOL - Center for Research on Political Economy, Dakar, Senegal
Juliet U. Elu
Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, USA
Yaw Nyarko
New York University, New York, NY, USA
Africa is emerging as a rapidly growing region, still facing major challenges, but
with a potential for significant progress – a transformation that necessitates vigorous
efforts in research and policy thinking. This book series focuses on three intricately
related key aspects of modern-day Africa: economic, social and political
development. Making use of recent theoretical and empirical advances, the series
aims to provide fresh answers to Africa’s development challenges. All the socio-
political dimensions of today’s Africa are incorporated as they unfold and new
policy options are presented. The series aims to provide a broad and interactive
forum of science at work for policymaking and to bring together African and
international researchers and experts. The series welcomes monographs and
contributed volumes for an academic and professional audience, as well as tightly
edited conference proceedings. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to,
economic policy and trade, regional integration, labor market policies, demographic
development, social issues, political economy and political systems, and
environmental and energy issues.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11885
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba • Mammo Muchie
Editors
Innovation, Regional
Integration, and
Development in Africa
Rethinking Theories, Institutions,
and Policies
Editors
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba Mammo Muchie
Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute Tshwane University of Technology
University of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa
ISSN 2198-7262 ISSN 2198-7270 (electronic)
Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development
ISBN 978-3-319-92179-2 ISBN 978-3-319-92180-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92180-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018949362
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims
in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
Reframing the Debates on Innovation and Regional Integration
in Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba
Part I T heories and Concepts of Innovation and Regional Integration
Networked System of Innovation for African Integrated, Smart
and Green Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mammo Muchie
Innovation and Regional Integration in Africa: Exploring Theory
and Praxis for Socio-Economic Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba
Innovating the Political Economy of Pan Africanism:
Imagination and Renaissance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Abu Girma Moges and Mammo Muchie
Innovating Policy and Systems of Innovation for Regional
Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Christopher C. Nshimbi
Transnational Simultaneity: An Emerging African Perspective
of Cross-Border Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Adebusuyi Isaac Adeniran
Knowledge Valorisation for Inclusive Innovation and Integrated
African Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Saidi Trust
v
vi Contents
Part II R egional Institutions and Innovation in Africa
Regional Integration Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities
in Africa: A Case of the Tripartite Free Trade Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Moorosi Leshoele
The Regionalism-Innovation Nexus: The ECOWAS Experience . . . . . . . . 121
Adeoye O. Akinola
Institutional Capacity and Regional Integration: Reflections
on the Composition and Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament . . . . . . . . . . 137
Ikenna Mike Alumona and Stephen Nnaemeka Azom
Innovation and Economic Development in West Africa:
The Challenges of Implementing ECOPOST in Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Adetola Odubajo
The Role of Cloud-Based mHealth Disease Surveillance System
in Regional Integration: A Case of the Ebola Crisis in ECOWAS . . . . . . . 171
Lang Loum and Dikeledi A. Mokoena
Higher Education, R&D, and Challenges in National Innovation
System Building of Angola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Eurico Josué Ngunga
Part III Sectoral Innovation and Integrated Development in Africa
Regional Integration and Knowledge Flows: Effect
on Manufacturing Productivity in Southern Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Alexis Habiyaremye
Regionalism and Failure of the African Manufacturing Sector:
Technology Transfer Policies as a Missing Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Deus Costantine Shirati
Intra-African Trade and Innovation in the Agricultural sector . . . . . . . . . 237
Foluso Akinsola and Motunrayo Akinsola
Unemployment and Informal Entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe:
Implications for Regional Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Kingstone Mujeyi and Wilbert Zvakanyorwa Sadomba
Analysis of Agricultural Innovation and Decision Making
among Maize Farming Household in Nigeria: A Gender Approach . . . . . 267
Opeyemi E. Ayinde, Tahirou Abdoulaye, Mammo Muchie, and
Oluwafemi O. Ajewole
Social Innovations as a Response to Municipal Failures in Africa . . . . . . . 283
Innocent Chirisa, Liasion Mukarwi, Abraham R. Matamanda,
and Aaron Maphosa
Contents vii
Science and Technological Capability Building in Global South:
Comparative Study of India and South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Swapan Kumar Patra and Mammo Muchie
Part IV C onclusion: Setting Research Agenda for Innovation
and Integrated African Development
Conclusion: Setting Research Agenda for Innovation and Integrated
African Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba and Mammo Muchie
Reframing the Debates on Innovation
and Regional Integration in Africa
Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba
Innovation has been very critical and central to the establishment of modern indus-
trial societies. The transformation of former agrarian societies of Europe, United
States of America in nineteenth and twentieth centuries and of recent, Asia was
largely due to the development of National Systems of Innovation. In order to facili-
tate development, the State in these countries formulated public policies that priori-
tised investment in research and development with focus on innovation. In the
United States of America for instance, investment in technology was initially
focused on building military capability. Although such investments did not have
commercial orientation as the overriding objective, they laid the foundation for the
future industrial and technological innovations that the country has witnessed over
the past two centuries (Moweri and Rosenberg 1993). Innovation has been defined
as the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service),
or process, a new marketing method, or a new organisational method in business
practices, workplace organisation or external relations (OECD 2005, 2012).
Although governments usually provide the leadership and appropriate enabling
environments for innovations, they are not the only agent in the process of deploy-
ing innovation for development. Other agents involved in generating innovation
include firms and universities. Scholars like (Lundvall 1992, 1994, 1997; Nelson
1993) emphasise the role of the firm in fostering innovation, while Adeoti (2016)
stresses the critical role of universities in innovation and development. Etzkowitz
and Leydesdorff (2000) explicate on what they call the Triple Helix of university-
industry- government relations in fostering innovation. In this respect, they argue
that ‘as the role of the military has decreased and academia has risen in the institu-
tional structures of contemporary societies, the network of relationships among aca-
demia, industry, and government have also been transformed’ (p. 109).
S. O. Oloruntoba (*)
Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019 1
S. O. Oloruntoba, M. Muchie (eds.), Innovation, Regional Integration, and
Development in Africa, Advances in African Economic, Social and Political
Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92180-8_1
2 S. O. Oloruntoba
Since independence, African countries have suffered from low capacity for inno-
vation and development due essentially to the nature and character of the state, its
location in the global knowledge production flows and the skewed international
capitalist system (see Oloruntoba 2016; Ake 1981). Africa occupies the least rank in
the Global competitiveness index and scores very low in research and development.
Mugabe (2011:5) identifies various features of National Systems of Innovations in
Africa, which contributed to the low position of the continent in global competitive-
ness rankings. These features include the reality that: science and technology is
narrowly defined to mean R&D, little emphasis on innovation aspects such as tech-
nology prospecting, procurement and diffusion, lack of explicit innovation policies,
few and weak institutional linkages and collaboration, weak engineering and entre-
preneurship capabilities, Limited financial resources for technological innovation,
low levels of technological readiness and innovation capacities and generally poor
and neglected R&D infrastructure.
Recent efforts at national, regional and continental levels to boost innovation
through the establishment of National Systems of Innovation and regional systems
of innovation have not yielded enough results. Yet, the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa (2013:11) notes in its study on innovation notes that, ‘inno-
vation capacities are vital for diversifying and differentiating the production and
trade portfolios, providing a chance to “leap-frog” -technological progress and fac-
tor efficiencies may well account for half the economic growth in dynamic
economies”.
The weaknesses in the capacity of the state to foster innovation necessitates a
regional integration approach to innovation, in which ‘networks of people, institu-
tions and markets’ are brought together to ‘spur innovation and related creative
activities’ (UNECA 2016:11). Mugabe (2011) notes in this respect that there is a
renewed focus on accelerating regional economic and political cooperation in
Africa. He adds that regional economic integration makes it possible for African
countries to pool their economic diversity and assets together and build bigger mar-
kets as well as trading blocs. It is also an important mechanism for assembling
resources for the production of regional public goods (p. 2).
Studies on innovation have traditionally been focused on building National
Systems of Innovation through the formulation of appropriate policies and creation
of the right environment through support for research and development (OECD
2011). However, given the weaknesses of many of the states in Africa, their extrac-
tive nature and dependence on foreign donors, it has become imperative to adapt a
regional approach to building capability for innovation and competitiveness. This is
very important for several reasons. One, despite the artificial boundaries, African
states share many things in common. Two, there are diversities in the level of inno-
vation and competitiveness of states. The similarities and the diversities among
states can be harnessed to foster complementarities and synchronisation of policies
and institutions geared toward building capacities for innovation and development.
Three, various free trade agreements are being negotiated at the regional and conti-
nental levels with the overall aim of building synergy, creating value chains and
boosting market access.