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On 2 September 2020, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) published the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 with the theme, ‘Who will Finance Innovation?’. Innovation is commonly understood to be new or improved goods and services, or new forms of organisation put to practical use in society. Financing innovation is critical to building a sustainable economy for the future of humanity. Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the need to continuously and consistently finance innovation to assure, not only human progress, but also resilience to global calamities, including disease outbreaks, adverse earth and weather conditions, among others. The effort of the WIPO and partners to focus the GII 2020 on financing innovation is commendable and timely. BioInnovate Africa is a key contributor to financing innovation in Eastern Africa, primarily innovations that add economic and social value to agricultural produce and other biological resources and convert biological waste into useful products. This is beginning to unveil new business prospects in food systems, biopharmaceuticals, bioenergy, biopesticides, biofertilisers, insect-based proteins and industrial enzymes, among others – fostering a bioeconomy for the future. In solidarity with partners financing innovation around the world, BioInnovate Africa highlights in the Photo of the month; September 2020, the GII 2020 performance of its partner countries in East Africa, and applauds them, particularly Rwanda and Tanzania for the improvement in their GII scores and ranks compared to last year, and Kenya for its leading position in the region. There is optimism that Ethiopia and Uganda will also up their scores in the subsequent years, and that Burundi and South Sudan will be mapped as well. Overall, increasing innovation financing should enable Eastern Africa countries to join South Africa in being among the top 60 globally ranked countries in innovation performance. Click here to read the GII 2020 full report.
