Caletous Juma on Innovation

Calestous Juma speaks with Scidev on what he thinks is impeding innovation in Africa:

So what's holding back all these African innovations?
One thing is ideology. There is a general assumption, mostly informed by some economic theories, that, if the market is right, innovations will simply emerge and diffuse without requiring government support. And so the focus has been on liberalising economic systems and markets in the hope that innovations would just emerge on their own.
But we know, in fact, that innovations don't just emerge — they are a product of deliberate private and public support systems which help them to move from the lab to the market place. They include institutions such as venture capital, technology development agencies to improve the technologies, and institutions that guarantee that those innovations are safe.

Continuing:

Who should be creating those institutions? 

That's something that has to be done by African governments themselves by legislation...We wanted to promote a culture of creativity so young people could see what had been patented and be inspired to develop their own ideas.

More here
A number of important points are made here however the creation of innovation nurturing institutions cannot be the sole preserve of governments. The Next Einstein colleges and Ashesi University were not initiated by bureaucrats nor were the hubs within the Afrilab network. Governments do have have a role as partners and in fashioning enabling legislation but we cannot overstate their importance when it come to the nourishing of invention.