It's time for Africa to reap from commercialisation of research

Successful commercialisation of innovations by women researchers will unlock infinite possibilities for scientists and industry players, increase revenues for governments and better quality of life. [iStockphoto]

Ground-breaking research findings continue to gather dust on mouldy shelves and vaults across Africa. They simply lack a pathway to commercialisation. Research commercialisation is the process of transforming research findings and intellectual property into commercially viable practical products, services and processes. It's a process aimed at creating value from research by introducing tangible products or services to the market, licensing new technology to consumers or even establishing spin-off businesses.

But this is an area in which Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is woefully deficient. The continent contributes a measly 2 per cent of the world's research output. It accounts for just 1.3 per cent of research spending and produces a tiny 0.1 per cent of all global patents. Kenya's Gross Domestic Expenditure in Research and Development in 2022 was only 0.81 per cent of the GDP - compared to a global average of 2.13 per cent.

The problem is further exacerbated by gender inequality and social inclusion disparities. Women and girls are significantly underrepresented in research where they constitute just over 30 per cent of researchers globally - including in Africa. This can be attributed to the "leaky pipeline" - a metaphor that describes how women and people from minority groups are progressively lost from certain career trajectories at each stage of the educational system, particularly careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This clearly indicates the continent is losing out on very critical research perspectives.

For a continent that aspires to go places fast, this is an untenable position. There's a very close correlation between research and socio-economic development that leads to increased quality of life. The better a country is at translating research into successful implementation, the faster will be its economic growth and global competitiveness. Then, it will better be placed to deal with other critical issues such as gender equality and social inclusion.

Silicon Valley in California is a case in point. Home to hundreds of high-tech firms and innovation hubs, the Valley's economic output is a mind-boggling $275 billion, higher than Kenya and Ethiopia's GDP combined. Silicon Valley employs hundreds of thousands of high-value staff and is home to the highest concentration of venture capital firms. What nuggets could we, in Africa, glean from successes in commercialisation elsewhere?

The first lesson must be an appreciation that research commercialisation comes with enormous benefits and impacts. New products will translate into higher profitability for businesses and employment opportunities for citizens. It allows consumers a wider choice of products, improving quality of life, and companies to generate more revenue, increase their efficiency and hence reduce production costs. Of course, this means more taxes for the government.

Furthermore, innovations from research would be most impactful in healthcare, agriculture for food security and new industries. Research commercialisation is an avenue for engagement between researchers, industry, investors and businesses.

There exist several pathways to research commercialisation. One way is through patenting of ideas and innovations. Another is in licensing of innovations, where it contributes to start-ups as well as benefiting from technology transfer deals.

But in Africa, progress in this very important area is hamstrung by several barriers. High on the list is lack of adequate funding from government and private sources. More importantly, perhaps, is the failure by duty bearers to recognise the immense value of research commercialisation right across the continent. It, therefore, receives very little priority.

The low numbers of high-quality researchers and a persistent brain drain for those working locally are significant concerns too. Other serious challenges in realising commercialisation include inadequate and conflicting policy and regulatory environment, research infrastructure deficiencies, minimal interaction and collaboration between research institutions and industry, risk aversion by investors and concerns about research outcome turn-around time because research takes a long time.

Conversations on how to move Africa to a vantage point from where it can reap the benefits of research commercialisation have been ongoing and a host of interventions designed and tested. Mawazo Institute, a Kenyan-based organisation, is in the forefront of addressing research gaps, especially from a gender-based point of view.

Mawazo seeks to empower career women researchers in Kenya and the region by targeted capacity building in critical areas, networking, logistical and financial facilitation and exposing their research work through deliberate strategic communication. The institute believes African women researchers are capable of providing solutions to problems facing the continent.

Supported by the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa, Fund Mawazo Institute in conjunction with Viktoria Ventures, and in partnership with the Kenya Innovation Agency, is implementing the Research to Commercialisation initiative targeting women researchers. Mawazo has trained 15 women researchers on key commercialisation topics, increasing their capacities on commercialisation pathways and strategy, financing options available for commercialising their research innovations, developing comprehensive financing strategies and preparing compelling pitches and investment proposals that effectively communicate the value proposition of their innovation to potential investors.

Successful commercialisation of innovations by women researchers will unlock infinite possibilities for scientists and industry players, increase revenues for governments and more importantly, better quality of life for citizens.

The writer, Carolyne Tunnen, is the Communications Lead at Mawazo Institute.