Webinar: How Science, Technology and Innovation Policies can Unleash Sustainable Industrialization in Africa

Summary

Industrialization is critical for Africa to be able to move the needle in global value chains (GVC) while promoting value creation and wealth retention at national and regional levels. This can only be attained by enhancing the productivity of the workforce and introducing new technologies and innovation through the promotion of sound Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies. Inclusive and sustainable industrialization that is powered by STI can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that generate employment and income the continent desperately needs. Africa's population has grown by more than 2 per cent annually since 2020 and is expected to continue growing at about 3 per cent per year. By 2100, two out of every five people on Earth are expected to be African. Given the current demographics, Africa will need about 18 million new jobs annually for that growth until 2035, and industrialization will address these needs, thus contributing to promoting peace and security on the continent.

At present, low levels of industrialization are among the biggest contributors to high unemployment rates, especially among the burgeoning youth population. This youth bulge can represent a demographic dividend with the right policies to situate STI at the heart of education systems and leverage Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and Intellectual Property (IP) rights as enablers. By also leveraging rapidly developing digital technology and research and development (R&D), African governments, in tandem with the private sector and universities, can effectively foster rapid, inclusive, and sustainable industrialization, including import substitution industrialization as a viable policy approach.

Against this backdrop, the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) is organizing an online webinar on: “How Science, Technology and Innovation can unleash sustainable industrialization in Africa”. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 25 June, 2024. A policy paper on the same theme will be published as an outcome document, reflecting deliberation at the webinar. The policy recommendations of the meeting will also feed into the ongoing work of OSAA in crafting key messages for the Summit of the Future, especially as it relates to strengthening digital cooperation and harnessing the potential STI in Africa to realize the 2030 Agenda.

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