UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

East and Central Africa
Figure 19.4: Technology hubs in East and Central Africa, 2014
IceAddis
Mekelle ICT
Business Incubator
Chapter 19
ActivSpaces (Box 19.3)
CiHub (Box 19.3)
Digitising Cameroon
CAMEROON
Bantul@b
@TheHub
CURAD (see p. 529)
Outbox
Hive Colab (see p. 529)
SOUTH
SUDAN
Grameen Foundation
AppLab
ETHIOPIA
Somaliland BITS
(see p. 527)
SOMALIA
REP. OF
CONGO
Bantul@b
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC
OF CONGO
RWANDA
kLab (see p. 526)
The Office
iHills Network
UGANDA
TANZANIA
KENYA
iHUB (see p. 524)
Aro Fab
mLab East Africa
Start-up Garage
GrowthHub
NokiaHub
@iLabAfrica (see p. 524)
NaiLab (see p. 524)
Kinu
CosTech
Dar es Salaam Innovation Space
TANZICT Innovation Space
Dar Tekinohama Business Incubator
COMOROS
Source: Adapted from iHB Research, World Bank and Bongohive
Persistently low internet penetration
Low internet penetration nevertheless prevents many East and
Central African countries from seizing fully the opportunities
offered by ICTs for socio-economic development. Penetration
rates of less than 7% are found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia and
Somalia (Table 19.1). Kenya leads the region for this indicator,
having realized the feat of raising internet penetration from
14% to 39% of the population between 2010 and 2013, a
compound annual growth rate of 41%.
Mobile phone subscriptions are far more widespread,
reaching from one-quarter (Burundi) to more than 200%
(Gabon) of the population. Their ubiquity has inspired countless
applications for mobile phones.
Prizes for science and innovation
A growing number of national and regional prizes have been
introduced recently to encourage research and innovation.
One example is the Olusegun Obasanjo Prize for Science and
Innovation, named after the former president of Nigeria and
implemented by the African Academy of Sciences. Also of
note are the Annual Innovation Awards run by COMESA since
February 2014 to celebrate individuals and institutions that
have used STI to further the regional integration agenda.
Other actors are establishing prizes. In November 2014,
the Moroccan Bank of Trade and Industry announced the
creation of the African Entrepreneurship Award, with an
endowment of US $1 million. This private bank operates
in 18 African countries and around the world. In 2009, the
annual Innovation Prize for Africa was established by the
African Innovation Foundation, a Zurich-based, non-profit
organization; the Innovation Prize is open to all Africans, with
prize money valued at US$ 150 000. Now in its fourth year,
the prize has been held in Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria.
So far, it has attracted around 2 000 applications from
48 African countries.
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