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The African Diaspora as a

source of Innovation

By Francis Stevens George

8/13/2019 The African Diaspora as a Source of Innovation

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The African Diaspora as a source of Innovation

Innovation is an imperative for Africa . It is no longer thepreserve of the developed countries. Globalization andtechnology- are having an unimaginable impact on Africa. We have seen what mobile phones have done to the bankingand health sectors for example.

Globalization breeds diversity in the market place. Thismeans more choices for consumer and thus moreopportunities. Technology introduces speed as the basis forcompetition. In order to respond to the needs of the newglobal market place, countries as well as companiesmust innovate . To innovate , knowledge must be shared andacted upon the internet time.

Innovation is more than inventing new things. For aninvention to have value, innovation must take place. Theprocess by which innovation takes place can be various. Oneof the common was the linear process.

Innovation is about thinking differently and doing thingsdifferently. Back in 1911, Joseph Schumpeter published forthe first time “The theory of Economic Development”, hedescribed the motor of the development as the innovationitself.

According to Peter F. Drucker innovation can be generallydefined as: the process of equipping in new, improved

capabilities or increased utility.

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The World Bank institute stated the following, “Climatechange, environmental destruction, and armed conflict areadding to the already high levels of poverty and global

inequality. At the same time, new technologies andinventions offer unprecedented opportunities to poorcommunities. Our challenge is to encourage the adoption ofinnovative practices in developing countries, and to do it better and faster than ever before. “

Innovation is becoming increasingly Open; so called OpenInnovation. The central idea behind open innovation is thatin a world of widely distributed knowledge, companiescannot afford to rely entirely on their own research. OpenInnovation is a term promoted by Henry Chesbrough, aprofessor and executive director at the Center for OpenInnovation at UC Berkeley, in his book Open Innovation:The new imperative for creating and profiting fromtechnology.

Open Innovation is in contrast to Closed Innovation. Theperiod between the end of World War II and the mid 1980s was the area of closed innovation and internal R&D.Many R&D departments of private companies were at theleading edge of scientific research. The setup of internalR&D was perceived as a strong barrier for potential newcompetitors, as large investments had to be done to be able

to compete. In the era of closed innovation, a companyrelied on its own internal R&D and protects its IntellectualProperty (IP) in order to win.

With Open innovation, companies now reply on externalsources of knowledge. More important is the principle thata co mpany should profit from others’ use of their IP, andshould buy others’ IP whenever it advances our business

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model. This is quite a dramatic development and one thatopens up interesting opportunities.

Governments are also finding that partnership with theprivate sector is creating innovative social services to tackle various manifestations of poverty. These so called PrivatePublic partners are in essence knowledge and openinnovation networks.

Open innovation has created knowledge brokers and openinnovation facilitators. These are businesses that bringtogether those with problems and those with solution.

The private and the public sector in African countries candeveloped such networks with their Diasporas. I recall in2002, I was part of the Digital Diaspora Network for Africainitiative. At that time, the idea was for us the Diaspora toleverage our knowledge for the development in the ICT

related field for the continent. Such a network would beinvaluable source of knowledge. For it to succeed you willincentives for both problem provider and solutionproviders.

There are several examples of Open Innovation where theDiaspora can play a valuable role.

Intermediary Platforms

These are brokers that facilitate research, marketing,design, open source software development and not leastopen innovation services. We have a project called OpenInnovation Africa. This is an intermediary that seeks to bring problem solvers with those with problems.

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Creative Co-creation

These are open innovation services where products are

created. For example, community development projectssuch as a hygienic latrine etc. Innovative musicians can alsocreate music through such networks. You can imagine anaspiring designer working from say, Accra, with a memberof the Diaspora in Europe or US. For this to happen, youneed a platform and incentives for both parties.

Corporate Imitative

One example is the Vodafone mobile application network.One could also envisage an international company using itsforeign staff to create such networks to their countries oforigin. The bottom at the pyramid concept suits this kindopen innovation.

Peer Production (P2P)

An example is Yahoo Answers. One easily envisage a portal where the Daispora could become a knowledge source. I amnot suggesting that this necessarily has to be one way.

Public Crowd Sourcing

One of the best examples that springs to mind is EurekaMedical; a medical open innovation platform. With thelarge number of doctors and nurses that are outside thecontinent, one could easily see how they can contribute tothe advances back home. Again one would need a platformand incentives for all parties.

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We do see a number of promising open innovationnetworks, for example in health. For example mapping theglobal distribution of clinical episodes of plasmodium

falciparum malaria.

IBM has its well known open innovation networkconnecting centers around the world including a centre inSouth Africa.

In the final analysis, it is very clear that the AfricanDiaspora can use the internet as a platform for knowledgeexchanges and innovation networks. Management, designand software development are areas that African countriescan benefit from with more knowledge and collaboration.

Francis Stevens George