A Scan of South Africa’s Maker Movement
This paper sets out findings from a national scan of maker collectives in South Africa. The scan gathered data on more than 20 maker communities across five South African provinces.
Invention in Africa: Open AIR shares its Model at CAAS 2019
By Uchenna Felicia Ugwu
Africa is becoming recognized as an important hub of
informal innovation, which should not be excluded or ignored by formal systems
for IP...
Strengthening innovation support systems at Ghana’s Suame Magazine
In my previous blog on skills development and innovation at Ghana’s Suame Magazine, I showed how the high level of collaboration and sharing of knowledge and skills within the cluster is contributing to innovation. Further, I provided some preliminary findings on the inability of these artisans’ to keep pace with the changing technology landscape. I also found that few artisans expressed interest in joining or maintaining a membership with local trade associations due to these associations’ inability to implement their key mandate of skills development and facilitation of business for members and firms.
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...
Beyond the Poster Boy of the Maker Movement
Some people tour Europe’s finest vineyards others tour Australia’s sweetest surf spots—I tour South Africa’s pioneer makerspaces; part of the growing global maker movement. The movement is a culmination of people becoming “makers” (someone who uses their personal abilities to create anything from mechanical or electrical to visual or musical) and spaces becoming makerspaces (an interdisciplinary area stimulating people to create by providing resources and idea sharing).
