The Global Innovative Index 2017 has ranked Kenya as the third most innovative country in Africa. Kenya came in behind South Africa and Mauritius.
The world’s most innovative countries are Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the USA and the UK respectively.
Swaziland maintained the first position for the seventh consecutive year.
High-income economies took 24 of the 25 positions with China being the only middle-income country at position 22.
“A group of middle and lower-income economies performed significantly better on innovation than their current level of development would predict,” the report says.
“In total, nine come from the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including Kenya and Rwanda, and three economies come from Eastern Europe,” the study reveals.
Africa scores highest in institutions and market sophistication, with economies such as Mauritius, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda, and Burkina Faso outperforms some of their development-level economies in Europe and South East Asia, East Asia and Oceania.
Since 2012, Africa has produced more “innovation achiever” countries than any other continent.
Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda, Malawi, Madagascar, and Senegal represented the Sub-Sahara Africa in this year’s ‘innovation achievers’.
Over the last decade, African economies have enjoyed growth above the global average.
“Efforts to bridge the innovation divide have to start with helping emerging economies understand their innovation strengths and weaknesses and create appropriate policies and metrics,” said Soumitra Dutta, Dean, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University.
The theme of the GII 2017, “Innovation Feeding the World,” looks at innovation carried out in agriculture and food systems.
Over the next decades, the agriculture and food sector will face an enormous rise in global demand and increased competition for limited natural resources.
Innovation is key to sustaining the productivity growth required to meet this rising demand and to helping enhance the networks that integrate sustainability.