As part of its 2024 Annual Meetings, the African Development Bank held a high-level session with a broad range of representatives from the African scientific community, to discuss the African Renaissance Institute for Science and Technology (ARIST) implementation project, which got a ringing  endorsement.

Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, head of the Education and Skills Development Division in the Bank’s East Africa region, emphasised the importance of research and innovation in transforming Africa.

“According to UNESCO, only 22% of students in Africa pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, compared with 24.3% in Europe and Central Asia and 25.6% in East Asia and the Pacific,” she noted. “Inadequate national budgets and weak policies, particularly with respect to higher education in Africa, are to blame. Only between 0.2% and 0.9% of African countries’ GDP goes technical and vocational education and training, and higher education, in comparison to 1.24% of GDP in high-income countries.

“Based on these findings, the African Development Bank is proposing the establishment of an African Renaissance Institute for Science and Technology, to train a critical mass of Africans and help them spearhead the continent’s economic transformation,” she added.

Challenges and avenues

Male and female scientists from African and foreign universities described the challenges for Africa to get the institute up and running, from their areas of expertise in biology and cytogenetics, organic chemistry, aeronautics and information technology, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, etc.

Wole Soboyejo, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, in the US, stressed that Africa needs to take advantage of its immense potential, and should emulate the “Asian dragons” by increasing investment in education, research and innovation. “Africa’s young population, 80% of whom are under the age of 20, must be prepared to enter the fourth industrial revolution,” said Professor Soboyejo.

Esther Akinlabi, professor of mechanical engineering and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK, who works with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, said: “We can move from the first to the fourth industrial revolution by investing in cutting-edge sectors such as robotics and bio-manufacturing.”

Professor Jerry John Kponyo, Dean of the Office of Quality Assurance and Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, presented innovative projects based on artificial intelligence, with applications for the early detection and treatment of epizootic diseases, and for the detection and treatment of cancer in humans, and assistance for people with reduced mobility.

Professor Gebisa Ejeta, a geneticist and plant breeder at Purdue University in Indiana, US, and 2009 World Food Prize winner, focused on food security in African countries, pointing out that conflicts and pandemics, as well as inflation, have shown how precarious global food systems can be. “We need to strengthen our food security institutions and programmes, and work on a seed industry that, with the use of genetic selection techniques, is capable of supplying the continent with inputs,” he pointed out.

Innovative solar energy applications were presented with the example of the Kenyan village of Impala, which has a low-cost lighting system costing $2 over twelve months, and a solar-powered vaccine delivery system for medical clinics in rural communities, etc.

“The Covid-19 pandemic strikingly revealed the continent’s shortcomings and its enormous needs in terms of medical and health technologies,” said Professor Wole.

A potential roadmap

The scientific community in Africa and in the diaspora were hugely enthusiastic about the idea, stressing the need for young Africans and for the industrial sector to be involved from the start of the process to avoid incompatibility issues between production and the business environment. The institute will make it possible to pool African efforts and share challenges and obstacles, most speakers noted.

Once the flaws and weaknesses have been identified, it will be necessary to move to high-level political dialogue and get the public authorities on board, and then set up a think tank to defend the process and develop programs.

The scientific community in Africa and the diaspora sees the need for the institute to be started up and made operational, beginning with establishing its secretariat and network, and developing skills in areas with high demand. Finally, accelerators need to be put in place to facilitate the transition from ideas to markets and sustainable development.

The African Development Bank has already committed to supporting the establishment of a platform to group the contributions of all involved stakeholders. “Champion” countries willing to participate and host the initiative will be identified.

The Bank has invested around $24.7 million in three Nelson Mandela Institutes across the continent: the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, Nigeria, and the African Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha, Tanzania.