Innovation Agencies in Africa Network

A Policy Briefing Note for the Innovation Agencies in Africa (IAA) Network.

Innovation is a cornerstone of Africa’s pursuit of sustainable development, industrial competitiveness, and inclusive growth. The continent’s ability to harness science, technology, and knowledge for transformation depends not only on national efforts but also on regional collaboration, shared learning, and policy harmonization.

The Innovation Agencies in Africa (IAA) Network was established as a pan-African platform to strengthen the capacity of national and regional innovation agencies. Supported by funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF), the Network drives initiatives across three thematic areas. Green innovation focuses on advancing renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and circular economy solutions. Digital innovation seeks to build ICT infrastructure, e-governance systems, and support digital entrepreneurship. Inclusive innovation ensures that women, youth, and marginalized groups are integrated into innovation ecosystems.

The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), benchmarks 139 economies across seven pillars: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs. The index provides an authoritative framework for assessing progress, identifying strengths, and addressing gaps in African innovation systems. For the IAA Network, the GII offers an evidence base to guide action, helping members benchmark against peers, identify priority areas, and align strategies with continental goals such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Africa’s Innovation Landscape

The regional trends show strong progress in rankings, with ten of the 32 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies improving their positions in 2025. Namibia posted the largest gain, moving up 11 places, reflecting the impact of policy reforms and strategic investment. Leading the region are Mauritius, South Africa, Seychelles, Botswana, and Senegal. SSA also hosts the world’s largest share of “innovation overperformers”—economies performing above expectations for their level of development—including South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Malawi, and Madagascar.

The GII 2025 highlights notable strengths across the continent. Namibia ranks first globally for education expenditure. South Africa excels in university–industry linkages, ranking 24th for collaboration, and Uganda’s Makerere University is among the top 70 institutions worldwide for international engagement. South Africa also performs strongly in creative and brand value, ranking 23rd globally, while Senegal and Nigeria are recognized for unicorn valuations, underscoring Africa’s growing startup ecosystem.

Yet persistent constraints remain. Most African economies invest less than 0.5% of GDP in R&D, far below the global average of 2.7%. Infrastructure deficits, including broadband penetration and electricity reliability, continue to limit innovation, and patent filings, high-tech exports, and knowledge-intensive industries remain underdeveloped. Innovation progress is uneven, concentrated in a few hubs while many economies face systemic barriers. Overall, Africa demonstrates dual dynamics: some economies consistently outperform expectations, while others remain constrained, highlighting the critical role of continental cooperation and the IAA Network.

As WIPO Director General Daren Tang observes, “While we see encouraging signs of recovery in areas such as innovation uptake and impact, the global innovation engine is not firing on all cylinders. Slower growth in R&D investments and declining VC activity reminds us that innovation requires sustained upstream and financial commitment.”

IAA Member Country Performance

South Africa (Rank 61, Upper-Middle Income)

South Africa continues to assert itself as the continent’s leading innovation hub, improving its ranking in 2025. The country benefits from a diversified innovation ecosystem, strong R&D intensity, globally recognized universities, and the largest venture capital market in Africa, including late-stage funding. Its creative industries also shine, with South Africa ranked 23rd globally for brand value. Despite these strengths, broadband and electricity reliability remain systemic challenges, and innovation activity is largely concentrated in metropolitan centers, leaving many regions underrepresented in the innovation landscape.

Botswana (Rank 87, Upper-Middle Income)

Botswana maintains a steady position among Sub-Saharan Africa’s top performers. Its strong institutional and governance frameworks, along with solid performance in knowledge absorption and business sophistication, underpin its innovation capacity. However, the country faces limitations in ICT and research infrastructure, and its dependence on extractive industries restricts diversification, constraining broader innovation development.

Namibia (Rank 91, Upper-Middle Income)

Namibia achieved the largest leap in Sub-Saharan Africa, climbing 11 places in 2025. This advancement reflects the country’s global leadership in education expenditure, ranking first worldwide, and its high innovation efficiency, generating notable outputs relative to inputs. Namibia has also made gains in business sophistication and international collaboration. Nevertheless, R&D spending remains weak, and access to venture capital and commercialization pathways is limited, leaving significant potential untapped.

Cabo Verde (Rank 95, Lower-Middle Income)

Cabo Verde’s ranking has remained stable, reflecting consistent but modest innovation growth. Political stability and long-term policy continuity, combined with investments in human capital and strong diaspora-driven linkages, provide a solid foundation for innovation. Yet the country’s performance in business sophistication and knowledge-intensive exports remains limited, signaling areas where further development is needed.

Kenya (Rank 102, Lower-Middle Income)

Kenya continues to serve as a key regional hub for digital innovation. Its strengths lie in ICT service exports, fintech innovation, and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that fosters startups and digital ventures. However, R&D investment is insufficient, and patent activity is limited. Venture capital flows are heavily concentrated in fintech, which restricts the diversification of the innovation ecosystem and limits the development of other high-potential sectors.

Rwanda (Rank 104, Low Income)

Rwanda remains the top-performing low-income economy globally and a long-standing innovation overperformer. Its strong institutional frameworks, coherent policies, and early adoption of digital governance have positioned it as a model for innovation in low-income contexts. Despite these achievements, infrastructure gaps, particularly in broadband and energy, and limited innovation financing continue to constrain further progress.

Tanzania (Rank 121, Lower-Middle Income)

Tanzania performs in line with its income group, making incremental improvements in education and entrepreneurship while expanding its SME base. However, energy and ICT infrastructure bottlenecks continue to restrict innovation integration, and research commercialization remains weak.

Uganda (Rank 124, Low Income)

Uganda stands among the top five low-income performers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Makerere University, ranked 63rd globally for international collaboration, exemplifies the country’s academic strengths. Expanding partnerships with global institutions support knowledge exchange, yet minimal R&D expenditure, weak commercialization pathways, and infrastructure gaps in energy and broadband continue to limit the translation of innovation into economic impact.

Ethiopia (Rank 134, Low Income)

Ethiopia remains in the lower tier of the GII but demonstrates improving innovation efficiency. The country has expanded its higher education and research base, achieving better outputs relative to limited inputs. Still, Ethiopia’s R&D investment remains among the lowest globally, and severe deficits in energy and digital infrastructure, coupled with weak private-sector engagement in innovation, constrain the country’s broader innovation potential.

Policy Implications for Africa and the IAA Network

Advancing green innovation requires prioritizing renewable energy R&D, sustainable agriculture, and circular economy initiatives while leveraging regional platforms to coordinate demonstration projects across member countries. Digital innovation depends on accelerating broadband expansion, digital literacy programs, and harmonized data governance to support cross-border initiatives. Inclusive innovation calls for embedding gender equality, youth empowerment, and rural innovation into national policies, scaling community-driven hubs, and supporting underserved groups.

Institutional development remains a key priority. Strengthening innovation agencies as policy coordination and monitoring entities, standardizing metrics through the IAA Network, sharing best practices, and jointly engaging with multilateral funders will help scale success. The Global Innovation Index 2025 confirms that Africa is advancing its innovation frontier, with economies like South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Rwanda achieving above-expected performance while others face structural barriers requiring urgent attention.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang emphasizes, “The fastest-advancing economies in the GII are those that view innovation as a fundamental engine of resilience, growth, and competitiveness. This year’s GII reveals both encouraging progress and challenges that still need to be addressed for countries to fully harness their innovation potential. Innovation ecosystems require support and nurturing through thoughtful policies, meaningful investments, and cross-sector collaboration.”

For the IAA Network, the message is clear: investments in education, institutional stability, digital entrepreneurship, and international collaboration are proven levers for climbing the rankings. Scaling these successes across member countries will require regional cooperation, shared financing mechanisms, and policy harmonization to ensure that Africa’s innovation potential is fully realized.

Access the policy briefing note here.