Mobile Innovation as the Cornerstone of Socio-economic Development in Kenya
Over the past few years, Kenya’s innovation scene has come to the limelight, resulting in some naming the country as the technology hub of Africa. Some of the factors that have led to this acclaim are the growing number of shared working spaces, young technology enthusiasts, incubators where developers are mentored and trained, and a craze for mobile application development. The Open AIR team in Kenya – comprised of Dr. Isaac Rutenberg, Victor Nzomo, Louisa Matu-Mureithi and myself – is conducting research on mobile innovation in Kenya. As a researcher on the team, I am helping to conduct research, interviews, and analysis on the case study entitled “Open Collaborative Models of Mobile Tech Innovation in Kenya.”
WIPO-IGC 45: Bold and Strategic Moves Toward TK and TCE Text(s)
By Chidi Oguamanam
Buoyed by the July 2022 WIPO 62nd General Assembly decision that endorsed a Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources (GR) and Associated Traditional...
IP, Gender, and South Africa: a Student’s Visit to Open AIR’s...
By Akkila Thirukesan
This blog is part one of a series into Akkila’s during her visit to Open AIR’s South Africa hub – the...
The Role of Women and Girls in Unlocking Africa’s Digital Future
By Rosemond Yaa Kpeiku
The Second Africa Summit on Women and Girls in Technology was a three day event in collaboration between the World Wide...
Optimising Benefits from Publicly Funded Research
Published by Open AIRPublication Date: 2014Download: Optimising Benefits from Publicly Funded Research (323)
This 2014 Briefing Note highlights Open AIR research findings on apparent disconnects between...
Reconciling Copyright with Creativity: New Insights from 2018 Conferences (Part II)
By Helen Chuma-Okoro and Nicole Tumaine
This is part two of Helen Chuma-Okoro and Nicole Tumaine’s blog post on the insights retained from 2018 conferences,...
L’Afrique à l’épreuve de la Covid-19
Par Abdelhamid Benhmade
En quatre semaines, la situation est devenue extrêmement alarmante sur le continent africain. « Les populations africaines vivent l’un des pires épisodes pandémiques...
WIPO IGC 39: Unraveling the Tiered Approach to TK/TCEs
By Chidi Oguamanam
One of the major innovations of the IGC, in its long-running search for international legal instruments for the effective protection of TK/TCEs...
Open Call for Case Studies
Open AIR is calling for African case studies that shed light on the following two overarching research questions:
How can open collaborative innovation help businesses scale up and seize the new opportunities of a global knowledge economy?
Which knowledge governance systems will best ensure that the social and economic benefits of innovation are shared inclusively across society as a whole?
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).
