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| MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Kenya Railways-Standard Gauge Railway - China financed and built this structure without Kenyan engineers embedded and fully involved to build up the associated engineering and managerial capabilities as the project serving as a motherboard for innovation in Kenyan engineering |
Infrastructural
development and technological innovation are both vital to Africa’s economic
future. Policymakers are currently more focused on infrastructure; they should
not forget its critical role in spurring innovation.
Infrastructure is both the backbone for the
economy but also the motherboard for technological innovation. Without adequate
infrastructure, Africa’s economies cannot realize their full potential. The
continent’s low economic performance and weak integration into the global
economy is in part a result of inadequate infrastructure – mainly energy,
transportation, telecommunications, water and sanitation, and irrigation.
Much of the policy concern over infrastructure
focuses on issues such as rates of return on investment, impact on public
finances, the formation of private-public partnerships, and identification of
sources of funding. Other concerns, especially from civil society
organizations, stress the environmental and social costs of large
infrastructure projects.
While these concerns are legitimate and need to
be addressed, they tend to overlook the role of infrastructure as a foundation
for innovation. This point is clearly identified as key to the continent’s
future in the 10-year Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa
(STISA-2024).
Although they may differ on implementation
strategy, policy makers understand infrastructure investment’s role in
stimulating economic growth. What are less appreciated are the strategic
connections between infrastructure investments and technological innovation.
Infrastructure projects are inherently
technological in nature. They represent bundles of scientific and technical
knowledge embodied in both equipment and human capabilities. Taking full
advantage of infrastructure’s technological potential requires a more
sophisticated approach to policy, procurement practices, and project design.
The first step is recognizing the magnitude of the challenge and the associated
opportunities. The African Development Bank has estimated that Africa will need
to invest US$93 billion annually over the next decade to meet its
infrastructure needs. The estimate for Nigeria is US$15 billion a year. South
Africa envisages investing nearly US$462 billion from 2012 to 2027.
Agriculture illustrates the importance of
infrastructure. Africa suffers from low agricultural productivity levels,
partly as a result of inadequate rural infrastructure, especially roads, energy
supply and irrigation.
Without rural roads, farmers are condemned to
growing crops close to their homes – or just enough to carry home. They can
hardly provide adequate food for themselves, let alone having surpluses for
local trade. On average, 60% of the rural people in middle-income countries
live within two kilometres of an all-season road. The figures in Africa are
much lower. In Kenya, for example, only about 32% of the rural people have the
same level of access. The statistics for Angola and Malawi are 31% and 26%
respectively. For Tanzania, it is 24%, 18% for Mali and 11% for Ethiopia.
Agricultural development in these countries is heavily influenced by access to
rural infrastructure.
A large part of this investment will come from
overseas. Indeed, Africa’s growing trade with China includes building
infrastructure projects. Most of this has been in transport. The recent
creation of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will
strengthen the country’s role as a source of funding not only for Africa but
also for many other regions of the world, including in the industrialized
countries.
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| FRUIT OF THE KOREAN RAIL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: High speed train at railway station, Korea Train Express, Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea |
Infrastructure as technology
clusters
In addition to supporting economic activities and
generating employment, infrastructure projects serve as bundles of
technological stocks and reservoirs for engineering capabilities. The development
of geothermal energy in Kenya, for example, has also resulted in the creation
of a large pool of experts working in Kenya and other countries.
The development of such projects offers Africa a
unique opportunity to build the engineering and managerial capabilities needed
for designing, constructing, and maintaining infrastructure projects. In
addition, the projects can also be used as a basis for designing new
engineering courses and research activities.
High-speed
rail in South Korea was designed to help the country build up the associated
engineering and managerial capabilities. One of its outputs was the creation of
the Korean Rail Research Institute, set up in 1996 to develop railway
transportation and enhance competitiveness in the sector.
High-speed rail in South Korea was designed to
help the country build up the associated engineering and managerial
capabilities. One of its outputs was the creation of the Korean Rail Research
Institute, set up in 1996 to develop railway transportation and enhance
competitiveness in the sector.
The design, construction and maintenance of
infrastructure projects involves considerable accumulation of knowledge and
capabilities. Policymakers must recognize the potential to tap this knowledge
to benefit the wider economy. Unfortunately, the design of such projects in
Africa tends to focus most on awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, not
seeking to maximize technological capacity.
Ironically, this vision existed in much of
colonial Africa. When the British built the Kenya-Uganda rail in the late 19th
century, they included a technical facility for repair and maintenance. Over
the years, African infrastructure projects have increasingly been delinked from
their technological content and are therefore underperforming.
Urban centres represent the highest concentration
of infrastructure facilities. They are also the most creative and dynamic
regions. They are generally not managed as sources of innovation and
creativity. Fortunately, this is starting to change and cities such as Lagos,
Nairobi, Accra, Pretoria and Cairo now host a variety of activities seeking to
promote innovation.
City planners, however, have yet to appreciate
the critical role that infrastructure could play in fostering innovation. They
have been slow, for example, to understand the urgency to extend broadband
access. So far, only a few countries, such as Rwanda, have recognized the power
of access to broadband as a driver for innovation. For most of Africa, this
infrastructure is grossly underutilized.
Smart infrastructure design
Defining infrastructure as a foundation for
innovation requires a coordinated approach driven by high-level executive
offices. It is primarily a governance question that involves at least four
important considerations. First, it requires countries and regions to focus on
innovation as the most important driver of long-term economic transformation.
Second, high-level coordination is needed to
ensure that all the diverse fields of infrastructure make the acquisition,
domestication and local diffusion of technological capacities a key objective
in addition to the provision of services.
Third, building local capabilities entails
engaging local firms and experts in the stages of project implementation. This
engagement helps to provide opportunities for local learning. One way to
achieve this is to ensure the involvement of local universities and research
institutes in infrastructure projects.
Finally, many of the procurement practices used
around the world tend to focus on lowering the initial cost of project design
and construction. Activities that involve building local capabilities tend to
be excluded from the initial pricing and bidding practices. Smart procurement
practices should incorporate the importance of technological factors from the
outset. African countries lack this experience, but they can learn from their
Asian counterparts that focus on technological learning as a critical element
of project design and implementation.
Africa’s vision to become a dynamic and
entrepreneurial region driven by innovation is within reach. Africa is right to
keep its eyes focused on the frontiers of technological advancement. But its
current infrastructure investments might be its Cinderella of innovation.
Dr.
Calestous Juma is a professor at Harvard Kennedy School specializing in
technological innovation and entrepreneurship for development. Twitter
@calestous
Originally published in NEW AFRICAN
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