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Maker Movement

Open AIR has been researching the innovation practices of African maker communities since 2016. We see the maker movement as a key engine for open collaborative innovation and enterprise development on the continent, and our exploration of the maker movement intersects with our work in the High Technology Hubs research theme. Open AIR’s first research engagements with African makers took place in 2016-17, when we documented The Maker Movement in Gauteng Province, South Africa and conducted A Scan of South Africa’s Maker Movement.

Our work in this area includes elements of knowledge co-production action research, through which we engage with maker communities not as mere research subjects, but also as collaborators who help guide the direction and content of the research findings. Emblematic of this action-research approach was Open AIR’s collaboration with the South African Maker Collective in convening the South African Maker Movement Workshop in Pretoria in March 2017. Our explorations of the continent’s maker communities then moved beyond South Africa to include studies of The Maker Movement Across North Africa and fabrication laboratories (fablabs) in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal.

Journal articles published by Open AIR researchers in this research area include Armstrong and Kraemer-Mbula’s 2022 article, Value Creation and Socioeconomic Inclusion in South African Maker Communities, and the 2018 article by Armstrong, de Beer, Kraemer-Mbula and Ellis entitled Institutionalisation and Informal Innovation in South African Maker Communities. From 2022 to 2025, Open AIR, through its University of Cape Town hub, was part of the consortium that delivered the EU Horizon 2020-funded African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project. The mAkE Project supported the work of makerspaces in several African and European countries, developed a Map of Machinery, and published an Open Catalogue of Business Models (OCBM), a set of Recommendations for Policy Makers, and a Venture Building Handbook.

The Maker Movement in Gauteng Province, South Africa

This paper sets out findings from research into the dynamics of the emerging “maker” movement in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. The authors position the maker movement as a potentially strong contributor to, and manifestation of, informal-sector innovation on the African continent.

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.

A Reflection on the Gendered Perspectives of the Innovation Paradigm in...

By Ghati Nyehita My ongoing Open AIR, Queen Elizabeth Scholar - Advanced Scholars (QES-AS), research project discusses the extent which South Africa’s copyright and design laws...

Fablabs et le développement durable de l’Afrique

Par Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou Je suis Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, doctorant en Communication Publique à l’Université Laval (Québec, Canada). Je m’intéresse à la contribution des tiers-lieux de...

Open AIR hosts South African Maker Movement Workshop

Enthusiasts and researchers gathered on Friday, March 3, 2017 to share research on the growing African maker movement. The workshop was hosted at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Maker Movement Across North Africa

Authored by: Nagham ElHoussamy and Dr. Nagla Rizk Abstract: This Working Paper sets out findings from research exploring the growing maker movement across North Africa, focusing...

African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (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...

Emerging issues in campus and community “makerspaces” across Canada

Makerspaces are places where innovators gather together to develop new ideas, technologies and entrepreneurial opportunities. The concept of sharing not only space but also tools and equipment is gaining popularity in many countries. Canada is home to several makerspaces ranging from hackerspaces, to fab labs, to informal studio spaces where people can create, invent, and learn. Some are run for profit, some are non-profit, and some are run by individuals or larger institutions.

3D Printing: Enabler of Social Entrepreneurship in Africa? The Roles of...

Authored by: Tobias Schonwetter and Bram Van Weile Abstract: Recognising the potential of 3D printing technology for facilitating locally relevant innovation and social entrepreneurship in...

Innovation, Makerspaces, and the Future: A Lesson from the University of...

Creativity is a key ingredient in innovation, and the University of Pretoria’s (UP) makerspace screams it from the moment one arrives; the walls are brightly painted orange and green, there are several large tables surrounded by equally bright chairs, and along the back and side walls lay computers, makerbot 3D printers, and, of course, a coffee machine. Currently, UP is the only South African university with a ‘formal’ makerspace, although many, including the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University, are working to establish their own official makerspaces.

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