Short of Target: Why in Africa Research Rarely Reaches Use

ABSTRACT Even when aimed specifically at producing goods or services, in Africa R and D seldom achieves that target. On the supply side, the "push" on researchers to work towards that target is weak, the foremost barrier being inadequate funding. This obstacle is compounded by another: the view, reinforced by existing systems of incentives, that R and D is an end in itself. Finally, what few policies there are purporting to further utilization of R and D results are a subject of rhetoric more than of action; R and D is conducted in much the same way after they have been enacted as before. On the demand side, the "pull" by the market on entrepreneurs to commercialize R and D results is feeble, the foremost obstacle being inadequate venture capital. Even when the required capital exists, however, the risk of commercial failure remains a deterrent. High world-wide, the risk is even greater in Africa, where it is aggravated by many uncertainties—some stemming from unstable economies, others from troubled poli...