African countries have shown their interest and willingness to strive for science, technology, and innovation (STI)-led development in the coming years. This Report shows that capacity in its various
dimensions, though improving, remains a problem for African economies generally, not just for STI. But a more important message emerges: even though two-thirds of African countries have STI policies and strategies, their capacity to implement them remains very low. Most African countries have underdeveloped STI institutions and fail to effectively generate and deploy knowledge and technological innovations for socioeconomic growth. This challenge largely reflects how STI institutions are not adequately staffed with skills and expertise, financial resources, infrastructural capabilities, and equipment. Encouragingly, the report shows that it is possible to build STI
institutions and use them for socioeconomic transformation, with a good number of African countries providing practical success stories based on strategies and initiatives that can
easily be adapted to other countries.
