General
Igniting Innovation-Based Growth in Africa
By Tolu Oyekan
Despite being the second largest continent by population and its huge landmarks, Africa still lags behind in several indicators vital for a successful industrial revolution. The region is still behind in the most important measures of innovation capacity.
Although Africa has 18% of the world’s population, it accounts for only 0.3% of global R&D spending and 0.5% of patent applications. Trade statistics paint a picture of a relatively low-tech, low value-add region: Africa produces 0.4% of global high-technology exports and 0.8% of middle-technology exports, such as industrial machinery, autos and chemicals.
Unlike previous waves of industrial change, competing in the digital age doesn’t require deep scientific expertise or massive capital investment. Instead, innovators and entrepreneurs in emerging markets are in a position to tap into flows of talent and digital knowledge; and convert them into novel goods, services and business models.
Specifically, Nigeria has been making steady progress in digitalization, technological advancement and innovation. The advent of the internet has impacted Nigeria positively; connecting businesses, individuals and enterprises in a seamless manner. Internet access and mobile phone usage have grown dramatically, as has Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Nigeria has the potential to unleash innovation that could transform industries and improve well-being across the region. These innovations can be seen in the transport, health, education, payment and fintech sectors.
Nigerian startups have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in equity funding. Voltron Capital is one of the well-known active investors in Nigeria tech startups and Africa at large.
Since its inception in 2014, it has invested in 33 startups. The Fintech (Financial technology) sector is one of the major and fastest-growing start-up ecosystems in Nigeria and these companies in Nigeria are driving tangible change for businesses.
According to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the number of African tech startups receiving funding between 2015 and 2020 increased by 46%, nearly six times faster than the global average.
However, the progress Africa has achieved has been concentrated in a handful of nations: Nigeria and five other African countries (Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia.) These six countries account for half of all African mobile communication subscriptions, for example. Internet access and mobile phone usage have grown dramatically.
In 2021, Nigeria had 108.75 million internet users. This figure is projected to grow to 143.26 million internet users in 2026. Four nations receive around 85% of the continent’s venture capital investments and 70% of STEM graduates.
South Africa, Egypt and Morocco account for 70% of public R&D spending in Africa. By their analysis, only two nations—South Africa and Kenya—have comprehensive regulations related to innovation.
In a recent report by BCG, Morocco’s 200-company automotive cluster is launching R&D initiatives linking manufacturers to universities and Kenya has emerged as a hotbed for fintech. South Africa’s dynamic health technology ecosystem includes more than 120 companies. Incubators, entrepreneurship training and investment funds are making Egypt the region’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem.
The good news is that talents in the region who are trained in the skills needed for fields like AI and advanced analytics are proving that they can integrate seamlessly into global value chains.
Freelance workers in such digital disciplines are in high demand, and the COVID-19 epidemic has made leading corporations far more receptive to remote work. This means that, for once, governments that invest in training can create jobs at home that will contribute to socio-economic development and innovation in Africa—rather than a brain drain.
Given the region’s diverse markets, there is no uniform approach to building and nurturing an innovation-driven economy that will work in all of Africa. The most appropriate strategies and mixes of policies will depend on which types of innovators—such as Multinational corporations, local champions, or startups—are being targeted.
There are, however, three basic steps that African governments need to follow to activate their national innovation system: build a national innovation strategy, stimulate domestic innovation activity, and enable the new national innovation ecosystem.
Building a National Innovation Strategy
Governments need to set their sights on innovation-driven fields that can create value well into the future by defining a national ambition and targeting priority innovation sectors. This can be done by considering the evolving opportunities in the emerging, digitally connected, Industry 4.0-driven global economy. Based on this analysis, policymakers should identify industrial sectors that are in the strongest position to achieve key national goals.
Nigeria has taken the initiative to adopt a National Strategy for the development and expansion of the tech ecosystem into communities, schools and innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs), thereby providing an opportunity for various sectors of the economy to leverage technology to transform business models, enhance productivity and efficiency; while also creating jobs and wealth for operators.
Stimulating Domestic Innovation Activity
To successfully launch different innovation clusters to stimulate innovation activity and attract foreign partners, African governments should provide operational, technical and financial support; encourage collaboration, invite open innovation and provide an innovation-friendly regulatory environment.
Enabling the New Innovation Ecosystem
A well-designed policy framework can lay the ground for a thriving innovation economy. But governments—especially in developing economies such as those in Africa—must also play a lead role in driving the investments that are needed to build innovation capacity.
Governments can leverage the success of leading-edge companies to support the development of innovation ecosystems by collaborating with the private sector to build supporting infrastructure, develop the talent pool and actively pursue and support pro-innovation investment.
While there is no single innovation strategy that can work across such a diverse region as Africa, the basic approach of defining national strategies, stimulating innovation activity and enabling the innovation system applies. Success in these areas will require collaboration among all actors in the innovation ecosystem: local companies, small entrepreneurs, academic institutions and investors. The specific policy formula should vary according to each country’s level of economic maturity, existing innovation capacity, competitive strengths, market ambitions and national needs.
As African nations continue to aggressively invest in their innovation capacity and implement the right blend of strategies and policies, we believe the continent is poised to write a new chapter in its economic history. But Africa should move now while there is still ample opportunity to get on the top deck with innovation cycles that are redefining the future.
Tolu Oyekan is a Partner at BCG
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said the implementation of the Defined Benefit Scheme Pension Harmonisation is a reform meant to advance and enhance pension payment equity in the country.
The chief executive of PTAD, Mrs Tolulope Abiodun Odunaiya, said this initiative was a landmark reform designed to restore fairness, improve retirees’ welfare and strengthen confidence in the administration of the country’s legacy pension system.
The harmonisation exercise marks one of the most significant policy interventions in the Defined Benefit Scheme since PTAD was established in 2013 to take over the management of pensions under the old federal pension arrangement.
Unlike periodic pension increases that merely raise existing benefits by a percentage, she stressed that pension harmonisation was further than that by recomputing pensions using the latest approved salary structures that existed before the closure of the Defined Benefit Scheme.
She noted that the objective is to ensure that retirees who held similar positions and rendered comparable years of service receive equitable pension benefits regardless of their retirement dates.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of years of agitation by pensioners over historical disparities in pension computation.
She added that the PTAD’s harmonisation programme seeks to resolve that challenge by restoring parity within the system. According to her, pension harmonisation is the formal recomputation of pensions using approved salary structures applicable before the DBS cut-off date.
In practical terms, it ensures that pension outcomes are determined by rank, grade level and years of service rather than the year of retirement.
The Directorate believes the exercise will significantly improve social justice by correcting historical inequities that disadvantaged thousands of retirees.
The harmonisation applies primarily to pure Federal Government pensioners as well as eligible retirees under the Parastatals Pension Department (PaPD), Defunct and Transferred Agencies Pension Department (DTAPD), and the Education and Health Pension Department (TEHPD), particularly those who initially served under the Federal Government before their agencies were transferred to state governments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Police Force will today, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, arraign the controversial director-general of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The arraignment will take place before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The police had charged Mr Adeyemi alongside two others with eight counts, including forgery and impersonation, in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025.
The case was initially filed on November 27, 2025, by Mr Wisdom Madaki, a police prosecutor.
Court proceedings had stalled on June 16, scheduled for Mr Adeyemi’s arraignment, due to his absence from court on grounds of ill health.
According to the court documents, proposed prosecution witnesses to testify against the defendants include the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhede and Ituah Sylvester.
Others are civil servants working in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Akimbo Shola and Mr Adamu Balongu, a deputy superintendent of police, were on the list.
Also listed as witnesses are Mr Ojo Victor, Mr Omeh Amarachukwu, and Mr Wakili Saidu, all of whom were allegedly posted to work with Mr Adeyemi at the non-existent agency.
Others are Mrs Joy Ngwoke, the owner of Kachi Hotel in Abuja, and Mr Ven Okoriko, the pastor of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama.
The documentary exhibits planned to be tendered by the prosecution to prove the case include the police investigation report, Mr Gbajabiamila’s petition dated October 17, 2025, and Mr Adeyemi’s fake presidential appointment letter dated March 8, 2024.
They also include the request for a note verbale by Mr Adeyemi sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the approvals he got to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the request for approval of self-accounting status Mr Adeyemi sent to the Accountant-General of the Federation’s office and the conveyance of approval for take-off of the PFIPC.
Other documents listed by the prosecution are a letter of request for collaboration with the ministry in the area of land acquisition and offices across the 36 states of the federation; statements of all the witnesses and that of the defendants, and pictures.
The police, in the court document, said, “The prosecution shall at the trial call any other related witness or witnesses to prove its case.”
The prosecution accused Mr Adeyemi of operating the fictitious agency from the 2nd Floor of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, Phase III, before his arrest.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of the fictitious agency.
The president gave the ICPC 30 days to complete the investigation, so it is currently unclear how the outcome of the ICPC investigation would impact the police prosecution.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A coordinated push to position gender inclusion as a driver of business competitiveness, investment and long-term economic growth has led to the introduction of the Nigeria Gender Country Programme (NGCP) by the private sector.
This initiative, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), aligns advisory expertise, funding and partnerships to strengthen women’s representation in leadership, improve access to quality employment, and expand access to finance, technology and markets for women and women-led businesses.
It builds on the CEO Roundtable held in June and the progress achieved through Nigeria2Equal, IFC’s earlier initiative, as it now moves into implementation, with participating organisations expected to adopt practical, measurable gender-smart business practices.
The economic case is significant, with the program underpinned by research showing that closing gaps in women’s leadership, employment and entrepreneurship could generate an estimated $22.9 billion in additional economic output annually, reinforcing the economic case for stronger private sector action on gender inclusion.
“Advancing women’s economic participation is no longer simply a social aspiration; it is a business imperative, an investment in productivity, a catalyst for innovation and a driver of sustainable economic growth.
“Through the Nigeria Gender Country Program, we are creating a practical framework that will help businesses strengthen leadership, expand opportunity and unlock the inclusion dividend for Nigeria’s economy,” the chairman of NGX Group, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, stated.
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for women-led enterprises and strengthening inclusive economic development, while the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by Ms Aishatu Digili, called for stronger collaboration between government, development institutions and the private sector to accelerate women’s economic empowerment and expand opportunities for women across key sectors of the economy.
The Division Director for West and Central Africa at IFC, Mr Olivier Buyoya, said, “Creating more and better jobs is central to IFC’s mission across Africa. Economies grow faster, and businesses perform better when women have equal opportunities to participate, lead, innovate and succeed.
“Through the Nigeria Gender Country Program, we are bringing together the private sector, capital markets and development partners to help companies turn this opportunity into stronger business performance, greater competitiveness and more inclusive growth. We look forward to working with Nigerian businesses to unlock the full economic potential of women as a driver of Nigeria’s future prosperity.”
Speaking on behalf of the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, the Commission’s Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, Ms Frana Chukwuogor, said, “The Commission welcomes the Nigeria Gender Country Program as an important platform for deepening collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing in support of inclusive market development. We commend the IFC for its leadership in promoting inclusive private sector development globally, and for its partnership with Nigeria in strengthening our financial markets.”
