Research, Innovation, Indigenous Knowledge and Policy Action in Africa

This chapter tries to establish a connection between the low level of innovation and inventions in Africa and the absence of indigenous knowledge in teaching, learning and research across the continent. It starts by exploring the fundamental tenets of innovation and proceeds to look at the relationship between innovation and indigenous knowledge. The paper further explores options for mainstreaming of indigenous knowledge in policy making across the continent, and concludes with the assertion that an emphasis on indigenous knowledge is crucial in African government’s efforts at creating a crop of highly innovative and creative citizenry