African governments and development agencies have embraced science, technology and innovation as levers for development over the past two decades. It is believe that science, technology and innovation boost productivity, cut transaction costs, open new business opportunities and promote social inclusion.
They also help societies tackle grand challenges such as climate change and persistent poverty. By 2020 at least 25 African countries had a national policy framework for science, technology and innovation. This compares with only about 8 in 2010.
Science, technology and innovation measurements are essential because they allow policymakers to see whether investments are yielding results. Without adequate metrics, scarce resources can be misdirected and progress towards Africa’s development goals will stall.
As a group of researchers who have spent years studying science, technology and innovation systems in South Africa, Nigeria and other African countries, we sought to answer this question.
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In a recent study it was found that the indicators used to track innovation in Africa are largely borrowed from high-income countries, and may be missing the mark.
If innovation is to help solve Africa’s challenges – like youth unemployment, food insecurity, digital exclusion and climate vulnerability – then the way African governments measure it needs to change.
Innovation indicators such as research and development expenditure, patent counts and numbers of researchers are useful. But only up to a point. They assume a formal, high-tech, research-intensive model of innovation typical of rich countries.
In contrast, African economies are dominated by informal firms, grassroots inventiveness and frugal solutions born of necessity.
In a systematic review of 42 peer-reviewed publications published between 2008 and 2024 shows that research on science, technology and innovation measurement in Africa is growing. But it remains fragmented and limited in scope.
Most studies focus on South Africa and Nigeria, leaving much of the continent under-researched. Even in those two countries, the focus has been more on adopting global standards than developing homegrown alternatives.
Many of Africa’s most effective innovations happen “under the radar” – in farms, markets, workshops and neighbourhoods. This is almost impossible to quantify.
Examples would be a mobile money agent in rural Kenya who finds a way to securely transfer funds without a formal banking system. Or a mechanic in Nigeria who modifies second-hand engines to run on local fuel blends. These are genuine innovations, yet they rarely show up in conventional data.
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The problem is not just one of visibility, but of conceptual mismatch. Much of Africa’s innovation is incremental, necessity-driven and based on doing, using and interacting, rather than on structured research and development or formal science. Current indicators simply aren’t designed to capture this.
Some may ask why does it matter how Africa measure innovation? The answer lies in policy. What Africa measure shapes what we fund, what we support and ultimately what we value. If African policymakers rely on indicators that ignore the informal sector or discount indigenous knowledge, policies might miss a lot of economic and social activity.
Moreover, global development goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union STI Strategy for Africa require better evidence to track progress. Africa cannot assess how science, technology and innovation contribute to food security, health access or climate adaptation if data are blind to realities.