In the first installment of this series on African
Innovation, I sought to establish the fact Africa was ripe for innovation, if
necessity was the mother of invention,
and that African innovation, need not be high-tech. In the second part
(read here), I asked the question: Can African Innovate? My preliminary answer :
Africans Innovate, therefore Africa can innovate, IF…
The “IF” introduced a series of preconditions, which would
be critical for driving relevant
African Innovation.
In this edition, I would like to address one of those
pre-conditions by asking the question, where do we begin?
In order to get “there” however, a little digression: a few
days ago I read some refreshing news about two Nigerian female students who had
won an Award in the Medicine and Health category, of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, in LA. They had found a solution for bad breath using walnuts. They actually came up with an hypotheses and tested it by conducting
structured research into it leading to
an innovation that solves a problem which according to them is faced by many of their peers.
They were secondary school students (Doregos Academy), just
like the other young girls (Where are the guys?) the ones who powered a
generator using urine.
This story was refreshing in and of itself, but it further
served to reinforce my belief that African Innovation must begin with Africa’s
Education. We cannot change a people
until we
