Towards a Technology Policy for Renewable Energy Development in Africa: A Systems of Innovation Perspective

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to use the systems of innovation (SI) perspective to describe how African countries might increase their rates of access to electricity, and by extension their capacity for broad-based industrialization, through renewable energy. The paper first explains the concept of ‘learning’ which is central to the SI perspective, and is a major driver of innovation and production. Secondly, it provides some examples of attempts to develop renewable energy industries around the continent, and thirdly, it explains how the research outputs of African scientists can be transformed into inventions, and more crucially, how some of those inventions might be converted into innovations. The main policy recommendation is that there should be a division of ‘innovative labour’ in Africa, which combined with community-based strategies, could serve to more effectively connect the innovation of both the producers and the users in a manner that is consistent with the tenets of appropriate technology.

Keywords:

• Learning
• Systems of innovation
• Technology policy
• Innovation policy
• Renewable energy
• Electricity
• Energy policy

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the Organizing Committee of the 5th International Conference on Appropriate Technology (ICAT), where the original version of this paper was first presented, for providing a vibrant and stimulating venue for the exchange of ideas between both academics and practitioners. I would also like to thank the editors of this journal, and the anonymous reviewers of the paper for their helpful comments and suggestions.