Picture: THINKSTOCK
Picture: THINKSTOCK

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RESEARCH compiled by former communications director-general Andile Ngcaba’s firm Convergence Partners has shown that the continent "can and is making a significant contribution to global innovation".

Titled "Innovation in Africa", the report says there are several initiatives aimed at stimulating innovation and growth of small to medium-sized enterprises on the continent, including innovation hubs, applications labs and the establishment of venture capital funds by privately owned companies.

The major focus of these initiatives is on mobile-related technologies. Mobile services are growing quickly in Africa, and the continent is expected to adopt the best technology.

"To survive and thrive in the future business environment, both as an individual and as a company, innovation has now become an essential ingredient to success," says Frost & Sullivan chairman David Frigstad.

He says for individuals and companies operating in today’s challenging economic climate, "innovation is key to developing a competitive edge and driving long-term revenue growth".

Last week, Nokia, AppCampus and infoDev, a global innovation programme of the World Bank, announced a collaboration with mobile innovation hubs across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The move aims to "empower these hubs to act as scouts and agents for local talent, fast-tracking their access to AppCampus funding".

"By working jointly with the mobile innovation hubs, we are able to connect more effectively with local developers in emerging markets and provide support in terms of funding, especially for locally relevant innovations," says the head of AppCampus, Pekka Sivonen.

AppCampus is a mobile application (app) accelerator programme, managed in Finland.

According to the Convergence Partners report, "evolutionary growth theorists have argued that late bloomer economies may profit from technological backwardness as ‘they benefit from the global diffusion of technology’, therefore accessing new technologies without bearing all the attendant costs and risks of investment".

The continent, according to the report, has produced some of the best innovative products.

These include mobile payment platform M-Pesa, launched by Safaricom in Kenya, and local social media group Mxit.

Mxit’s phenomenal rise in the South African market, and other emerging markets globally, "points to the ability of African-driven innovation to achieve global scale — especially in similar emerging markets", says Convergence Partners.

First National Bank (FNB) is another example of how banks can embrace information communications and technology (ICT) platforms to boost services. FNB embraced and leveraged the ability of ICT to increase the "stickiness and attractiveness of their financial services offering," according to the report.

It is the first major bank locally to launch a dedicated banking app, in conjunction with a digital strategy that included financing and driving adoption of digital devices for its customers, the report stated.

Another new product that originated in Africa is M-Kopa, a type of mobile technology that enables Kenyans to have access to solar-power products. It does this by offering innovative payment plans and a tailor-made distribution model.

"It is evident that particularly in developing countries, entrepreneurship is one of the most important areas of intervention for the sustained growth and diversification of economies," the report says, identifying the state’s important role in the development of an effective link between innovation and entrepreneurship.