Joelle Bolt
MaRS Africa
Innovation and entrepreneurship from within hold the key to ending povertyWhat would it mean if we found a way to enable Africans themselves to transform their own science, entrepreneurship, ideas and innovation into solutions to African health problems? We are convinced it would mean better health for Africans and improved economic opportunities for Africa.
We can do this by creating new platforms in Africa for innovation and commercialization. The current course ensures that African countries stay poor and their health outcomes remain dependent on our charity. Surely the better alternative is to unleash Africa’s undeveloped talent and ingenuity to create the products and services Africans need.
Many of the elements needed for innovation exist in Africa, including an increasingly capable science base. But barriers remain. There is little venture capital. There is no culture of commercialization among researchers. Knowledge and skills do not flow among researchers, business, capital providers, and government regulators and policymakers, so research does not get translated into products that are desperately needed.
We know that emerging economies can innovate and commercialize life saving products. One of many examples: an Indian company called Shantha has developed a hepatitis B vaccine for 50 cents a dose, a 30-fold reduction in cost, so millions more can be vaccinated in poor countries, where most of the disease occurs. If emerging economies can innovate elsewhere, why not in Africa?
One of the creative things we’ve done in Canada is to bring together some of our best scientists, entrepreneurs, and far-sighted investors under one roof at the MaRS Centre in Toronto to translate new ideas into products and services. This is called convergence innovation. If it works for us, why wouldn’t it work in Africa?
In fact, as Tanzania’s Science Minister, Professor Peter Msolla, told a recent World Bank conference, his country was planning a Life Sciences Convergence Centre, in partnership with the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre (MRC) for Global Health at the University Health Network and University of Toronto. This Tanzanian center, he said, “is expected to strengthen its health innovation system and, in particular, commercialize health biotechnology products.” It will “co-locate science, business and capital providers for the very first time in Tanzania to enhance the commercialization of life science–related technologies.”
We have worked with Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and now Kenya. We are optimistic Africa will do better at translating the talent of its people in health and economic development in the future. In February 2010, MRC convened senior science decision-makers from these four East Africa countries in Nairobi. They are at various stages of creating their own convergence innovation platforms. They shared lessons, identified collaborative approaches, talked of creating life science companies, and began to think of deal flow and engagement of investors.
A network of ‘MaRS Africa’ platforms would help break the impasse that is keeping the poor and dependent poor and dependent. The unlocked potential will create new opportunities, providing a pathway to prosperity, jobs and better health. Building such partnerships is a next big step in global health. In East Africa they have started, and we are honored to be working with them.
Author Bios:
Peter A. Singer and Abdallah S. Daar are at the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, University Health Network and University of Toronto.
Photo: Joelle Bolt
