Botswana has edged out Kenya in the list of top global innovators as more African countries punch above their weight to come up with ideas and technologies that increase productivity and output.
Botswana is now the continent’s fifth most innovative country and ranked among sixteen African countries that improved their global innovation positions, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Botswana took the biggest leap forward, reaching 86th position, and in so doing overtaking Kenya (88th),” according to Global Innovation Index 2022.
A chapter in the World Intellectual Property Organization's index titled, ‘What is the future of innovation-driven growth?’ shows growing expenditure in education (2nd), human capital and research (51st), new business (4th), ease of access to micro-credit (15) and intellectual property payments (22) as key drivers for the Southern Africa country’s rise.
In 2021 Index, Botswana was ranked 106 out of a total 132 countries featured across the globe.
Mauritius (45) tops the continent’s list, propelled by the highest venture capital deals globally and performs well in trademarks, ICT service imports and new businesses indicators.
South Africa (61) takes the second position in Africa, its innovativeness driven by market capitalisation - the highest on the continent. South Africa is also among the countries that recorded the fastest rate of global labor productivity growth, between the 1970's and 2020.
“The crisis has supposedly accelerated technology adoption and diffusion, in particular as regards digitalisation and novel forms of (remote) working,” according to the index.