The country's transformative agenda needs researchers and innovators to help drive it forward, therefore the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) has begun developing a strategy to do just that.
The proposal would develop innovation support schemes and also construct infrastructure to encourage innovators around the country. Oliver Boachie, the sector minister's special advisor, who made this announcement, stated that the master plan will be executed the next year.
“Infrastructure will be developed around the country to guarantee that researchers and innovators are able to pilot their discoveries and perhaps scale them up,” he added.
Last Friday in Accra, Mr. Boachie spoke at the beginning of the second round of the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund call for proposal on behalf of the sector Minister, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie.
Fund RISA
A programme called the RISA Fund aims to enhance and assist the research and innovation systems in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Ethiopia.
The second phase of the plan, which will run from 2021 to 2024, will receive £3.5 million from UKaid.
The Strathmore University Business School, Kenyatta University, Kenya, Burooj Enterprises Pty, South Africa's The Mawazo Institute, Kenya's Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), and Kenya were among the first phase's beneficiaries.
The other organisations are the iSpace Foundation, Heritors Labs Limited, Adam Smith International, Ghana, Ghana, Impact Investing, Nigeria, South Africa, and Intini Research and Consulting.
Innovation, technology, and science
In order to advance science, technology, and innovation, Mr. Boachie declared that the government would concentrate on strategic technology sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, health, pharmaceuticals, and energy over the course of the next ten years. This effort is intended to alter public perceptions so that the country's development agenda is firmly anchored in science, technology, and innovation.
"We are working to improve innovation so that it recognises all ecosystem participants and gives them the resources they require to perform their roles more effectively.
"For this reason, we are working with the RISA project since their goals are in line with ours," he stated.
Commitment
At the occasion, Harriet Thompson, the UK's High Commissioner to Ghana, reaffirmed the UK's commitment to strengthening its ties with Ghana in the fields of science, technology, and innovation.
The accomplishments of the portfolio initiatives during the conception stage are being honoured now, which makes us happy. Ten projects totaling £888,000 in investment have been finished. According to her, the grant-funded initiative will increase the intellectual capital of the target nation, diversify innovation and research, give access to funds, and foster networking.
She advised candidates to visit their website, www.risa.fund.org, to submit an application since she said the deadline was July 31. She urged qualified candidates to submit their plans, pushing them to be imaginative and original in their approaches to problem-solving.
RISA Fund representative Irene Karimi also exhorted organisations striving to improve the research and innovation environment in the priority nations to submit applications. The award "must be utilised by research institutes, think tanks, partner governmental organisations, and private sector businesses," she emphasised.