Innovation Clusters and Systems

Continuing our focus on Industrial Clusters,in the preface of an overview document for the recently concluded Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters in Africa conference it was noted:

Image courtesy of Mckinsey & Co.

...that firms which operate close to related firms and supporting institutions are often more innovative and therefore more successful in raising productivity than firms that operate in isolation. The innovative cluster approach is thus an appropriate and established tool for analysis of industrial dynamics and for policy initiatives to foster innovations, growth and economic development.Consequently, the debate has now moved from whether or not innovative clusters are important, to how to best organize and manage clusters in order to exploit their maximum potentials. Thus, recently hundreds of cluster initiatives have been
launched, involving nearly all the regions of the world except Africa. Is Africa an exception in these global initiatives? An understanding of the concept and the salient features of innovation systems and innovative clusters, and the critical factors for building and improving them are imof these global initiatives.