https://en.sputniknews.africa/20250913/visible-but-unrecognized-how-global-innovation-indexes-fail-to-capture-africas-creativity-1078169846.html
Visible but Unrecognized: How Global Innovation Indexes Fail to Capture Africa’s Creativity
Visible but Unrecognized: How Global Innovation Indexes Fail to Capture Africa’s Creativity
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, innovation is redefining how societies solve problems, from mobile banking to local engineering breakthroughs. But while the continent continues... 13.09.2025, Sputnik Africa
2025-09-13T11:00+0200
2025-09-13T11:00+0200
2025-09-13T11:00+0200
global south pole
podcasts
innovation
africa
technology
digital technology
african continental free trade area (afcfta)
colombia
global south
west
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e9/09/0c/1078189398_0:67:1280:787_1920x0_80_0_0_3c89f451ee333a3c04e9cfc06fa89235.jpg
Visible but Unrecognized: How Global Innovation Indexes Fail to Capture Africa’s Creativity
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, innovation is redefining how societies solve problems, from mobile banking to local engineering breakthroughs. But while the continent continues to create solutions tailored to its realities, much of this ingenuity remains unrecognized because global indicators were never designed with Africa’s contexts in mind.
The challenge is not that Africa lacks innovation, but that the frameworks used to measure it are mismatched. International indexes prioritize conventional benchmarks like patents, laboratory research, and high-tech startups, yet these account for only part of the continent’s creative landscape. In reality, some of the most transformative advances emerge in spaces where necessity drives invention — informal markets, community workshops, or rural health centers.As Dr. Abiodun Egbetokun, Nigerian innovation policy scholar and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainable Development at De Montfort University, UK, observed, an “innovation emerging from the African continent that is speaking to local realities is not likely to catch the attention of the most prominent players in the innovation space globally.” This, he argued, explains why African innovators must work multiple times harder to be recognized internationally compared to their counterparts in the Global North.Speaking to Global South Pole, Dr. Egbetokun explained that this recognition gap stems from the very nature of African economies. He stressed that while international measures like patents and R&D budgets are straightforward to track, they do not reflect the grassroots solutions that directly improve lives.To listen to the whole conversation, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.► You can also listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict, Overcast, and Mave Stream.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole.
africa
colombia
west
nigeria
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2025
Aliyu Bello
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/03/1b/1065800114_0:0:584:584_100x100_80_0_0_62cad62dbf1189c4eb67480b8c84140f.png
Aliyu Bello
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/03/1b/1065800114_0:0:584:584_100x100_80_0_0_62cad62dbf1189c4eb67480b8c84140f.png
News
en_EN
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Aliyu Bello
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/03/1b/1065800114_0:0:584:584_100x100_80_0_0_62cad62dbf1189c4eb67480b8c84140f.png
podcasts, innovation, africa, technology, digital technology , african continental free trade area (afcfta), colombia, global south, west, nigeria, engineering, artificial intelligence (ai), creativity, аудио
podcasts, innovation, africa, technology, digital technology , african continental free trade area (afcfta), colombia, global south, west, nigeria, engineering, artificial intelligence (ai), creativity, аудио
Visible but Unrecognized: How Global Innovation Indexes Fail to Capture Africa’s Creativity
Aliyu Bello
Correspondent, Podcast Host
Across Africa, innovation is redefining how societies solve problems, from mobile banking to local engineering breakthroughs. But while the continent continues to create solutions tailored to its realities, much of this ingenuity remains unrecognized because global indicators were never designed with Africa’s contexts in mind.
The challenge is not that Africa lacks innovation, but that the frameworks used to measure it are mismatched. International indexes prioritize conventional benchmarks like patents, laboratory research, and high-tech startups, yet these account for only part of the continent’s creative landscape. In reality, some of the most transformative advances emerge in spaces where necessity drives invention — informal markets, community workshops, or rural health centers.
As Dr. Abiodun Egbetokun, Nigerian innovation policy scholar and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainable Development at De Montfort University, UK, observed, an “innovation emerging from the African continent that is speaking to local realities is not likely to catch the attention of the most prominent players in the innovation space globally.” This, he argued, explains why African innovators must work multiple times harder to be recognized internationally compared to their counterparts in the Global North.
Speaking to Global South Pole, Dr. Egbetokun explained that this recognition gap stems from the very nature of African economies. He stressed that while international measures like patents and R&D budgets are straightforward to track, they do not reflect the grassroots solutions that directly improve lives.
“The very setup of most African economies does not lend themselves to these kinds of measures. A lot of shop floor serendipity takes place — from the mechanic shop floor to the rural hospitals where people have to use a lot of ingenuity, things that most scientific definitions of innovation might not necessarily classify as innovation, but that really, really do change the game for the people they affect. So when you bring all of these reasons together, you see that the way innovation is currently measured really does not do justice to innovation in the African space,” Dr. Egbetokun explained.
To listen to the whole conversation, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on
Telegram.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole. 
