Sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind among global leaders in innovation, according to a new report released on Monday by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Mauritius took the top spot among all economies in the African region (53rd), followed by South Africa (54th), Kenya (80th), Rwanda (83rd), Mozambique (84th), Botswana (90th), Namibia (93rd), and Malawi (98th).
It however noted that, since 2012, Sub-Saharan Africa has had more countries than any other region among the group of “innovation achievers” that perform better than their level of development would predict.
It said that this year Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda stood out.
“As economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is slowing, the Global Innovation Index 2016 (GII) shows that the region must preserve its current innovation momentum, while continuing to diversify economies away from oil production and commodity revenues,” WIPO said.
For the first time, a middle-income country, China, has joined highly developed economies among global leaders in innovation.
WIPO noted that China’s progression reflected the country’s improved innovation performance as well as methodological considerations such as improved innovation metrics in the GII (Global Innovation Index).
According to the report, despite China’s rise, an innovation divide persists between developed and developing countries.
It also stated that Switzerland emerged as the global leader among innovative economies followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom, the US and Finland, adding that Switzerland ranked first in the 2015 index as well.
The 2016 findings point to an increasing awareness among policymakers that fostering innovation is crucial to a vibrant, competitive economy.
“Investing in innovation is critical to raising long-term economic growth, and in this current economic climate, uncovering new sources of growth and leveraging the opportunities raised by global innovation are priorities for all stakeholders,” said WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry.
Noting innovation requires continuous investment, he said: “Before the 2009 crisis, research and development expenditure grew at an annual pace of approximately seven per cent. However, 2016 data has indicated that global research and development grew by only four per cent in 2014.
“This was a result of slower growth in emerging economies and tighter research and development budgets in high-income economies – this remains a source of concern.”
According to WIPO, among the GII 2016 leaders, four economies, namely Japan, the US, the UK, and Germany stood out in “innovation quality”, which is a top-level indicator that looks at the calibre of universities, number of scientific publications and international patent filings.
China ranked 17th in innovation quality, making it the leader among middle-income economies for this indicator, followed by India, which has overtaken Brazil.
The Global Innovation Index 2016 (GII) explored the rising share of innovation carried out via globalized innovation networks, finding that gains from global innovation can be shared more widely as cross-border flows of knowledge and talent are on the rise.
It concluded that there was ample scope to expand global corporate and public research and development cooperation to foster future economic growth.
Published annually since 2007, the GII is a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world.
WIPO said policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders used the GII to evaluate progress on a continual basis.
The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results.
It added that recognizing the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity, and the need for a broad horizontal vision of innovation applicable to developed and emerging economies, the GII includes indicators that go beyond the traditional measures of innovation such as the level of research and development.
