Entrepreneurship, Technology Commercialisation, and Innovation Policy in Africa

This book provides a comprehensive overview of role of entrepreneurship, technology commercialisation and innovation policy for the achievement of economic development and prosperity in African societies. It adopts a broad innovation systems approach. The book examines entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology commercialisation alongside context-specific factors associated with them. It also provides an interdisciplinary perspective, by discussing the above disciplines in a connected way. This book is presented in three distinct parts. It starts by discussing entrepreneurship and the state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa. It then moves on to present technology commercialisation in Africa, before finally discussing the future directions for entrepreneurship, technology commercialisation and innovation policy. This broad picture provided in the book enables the reader to grasp the relevant messages, whilst the detailed analysis applies world-class theories and frameworks to deepen the readers understanding of key concepts and issues examined.

Chapter 1. Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology Policy for Transformative Change in Africa: perspectives, policies and practices. - Part I: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Innovation in Africa. - Chapter 2. The readiness of innovation systems for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in sub-Saharan Africa. - Chapter 3. Addressing gender challenges in STEM and ICT: perspectives from Zimbabwe. - Chapter 4. Mapping Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Technology Start-ups in Developing Economies: An Empirical Analysis of Twitter Networks between Start-Ups and Support Organizations of Nairobi s Digital Economy. - Chapter 5. What do we know about nascent and young innovative entrepreneurship in Africa? : insights and perspectives from Morocco. - Part II: Technology Commercialisation in Africa. - Chapter 6. Agricultural Innovation Systems and the agribusiness sector in Kenya: opportunities from smart specialisation policies. - Chapter 7. A Guideline for Technology Commercialisation in the 4IR. - Chapter 8. New entrepreneurial narratives in urban West Africa: case studies of five innovation hubs and communities. - Chapter 9. Corporate' s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) for SMMEs through Incubation Programme. - Part III: Future Directions for Entrepreneurship, Technology Commercialisation and of Innovation Policy in Africa. - Chapter 10. Research and Innovation Uptake landscape in Rwanda: Analysis of the STI framework. - Chapter 11. A Critical Review of Policy Instruments for Promoting Innovation in Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa Entrepreneurship, Technology Commercialisation and Policy: Perspectives from SMEs in Africa. - Chapter 12. Challenges and Constraints for Government Agencies Supporting Firm Level Innovation: Some Reflections from South Africa. - Chapter 13. Mapping the potentials for transformative innovation policies in Africa: evidence from Cote d Ivoire and Nigeria.