








and Intellectual Property


Fourth Industrial Revolution
This book seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities the 4IR presents to South Africa and the rest of the African continent.


mAke Project Completes Year 1
By Chris Armstrong
The EU-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) project has now completed its first year of operation. Open AIR is one of several...
Why Canada Must Implement the Nagoya Protocol Now: MAPC and ABS Canada
By Chidi Oguamanam
MAPC-ABS Canada 2003 Workshop and Retreat
May 15-16: The Maritime Aboriginal Peoples Council (MAPC) and ABS Canada concluded their 2023 Annual Retreat and...
À l’ère postpandémique, Open AIR cherche des solutions équitables aux freins à l’innovation
En 2013, le réseau Open AIR (Open African Innovation Research) publiait une étude prospective prévoyant un avenir ponctué de bouleversements, comme une pandémie catastrophique à l’échelle...
Strong Qualitative Research During the Covid-19 pandemic: A Reflection
By Larry Onyango
Covid-19 has not just altered everyday life but has also upended modes of doing research. This especially applies to qualitative research that...
À l’ère postpandémique, Open AIR cherche des solutions équitables aux freins à l’innovation
En 2013, le réseau Open AIR (Open African Innovation Research) publiait une étude prospective prévoyant un avenir ponctué de bouleversements, comme une pandémie catastrophique à l’échelle...
Opportunities for Women in Transformative Innovation and 4IR in Africa
By Pamela Mreji
Since the beginning of time, women and men inventors and entrepreneurs have transformed our world through the power of their imagination and...
Harnessing AI and Big Data for Development in Africa: The Prospects and Challenges of the IP System
By Sileshi Hirko
Putting Africa at the Forefront in Digital Economies
Central to the flourishing digital economies, the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the...
Covid-19 Digital Health Innovations: The African Context
By Chukwuka Okwuosa, Nailah Ramsoomair, and Chidi Oguamanam
“Dealing with health and economic challenges of Covid-19 has made one point abundantly clear for African countries...
7 Ways that African States are Legitimizing Artificial Intelligence
By Jake Okechukwu Effoduh
Several reports on States’ adoption of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) across the world have indicated that African countries have a “slow” or...
AI and Gender in Africa
By: Nagla Rizk
AI and Gender in Africa The original version of this essay was written as a section in a paper titled “Integrating Africa...
Access to Sustainable and Inclusive Energy through Pay-As-You-Go Solar Technologies in...
By Mireille Yeo Wondia
There have been significant global efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – to ensure access to reliable, affordable and...
Building Startup Resilience in Ghana Through Policy Support
By Yaw Adu-Gyamfi
Startups in Ghana struggle with access to technical support services, sustainable market linkages and funding to keep them afloat in the initial...
mAke Project Completes Year 1
By Chris Armstrong
The EU-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) project has now completed its first year of operation. Open AIR is one of several...
Opportunities from Côte d’Ivoire on Plastic Waste and the Blue Economy
By Ahou Rachel Koumi
In 2019, my niece and I enjoyed a two-day outing to the famous beaches of Assinie, in Côte d'Ivoire. I have fond...