Models of innovation and sub-Saharan Africa's development tragedy

There is growing consensus that technological innovation, however defined, is critical for rapid economic development. However, opinions are divided regarding the kind of innovation that drives economic development and hotel to bring it about. This paper examines three dominant models of innovation that can be characterized as the US, the European (or early industrial revolution) and the development-driven models respectively. The first seems to be fuelled by highly qualified scientists, engineers and technologists and is sustained by large R&D spending, a derivative of the mission-oriented aerospace armaments efforts of the US government. The second emanates from the munificent environment of a shared technical culture which produces a large number of practically trained entrepreneurs and workforces from an educational system that is biased towards hands-on technical apprenticeship, vocational and technological braining. This second model emphasizes broad tacit skills, versatility and agility in learning new, skills, information sharing and intense interaction among the entrepreneur, the workforce, the customers and other producers. While in the first model innovation develops in a deterministic trend towards Fordist/Taylorist mass production, the second is characterized as 'mass customization' where customer preferences are factored into production rather than controlled or ignored even when large quantities of output are involved. The third model is a diffusion model which is based largely on the transfer, adoption, adaptation and diffusion of existing knowledge. While the first model is always at the leading edge of technology, the third is based on the ability to learn, use and adapt new knowledge without necessarily contributing to it. R&D in the third model is carried out mainly to facilitate learning and improve the bargaining position of the adopter. Each model has far-reaching implications for sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the implications are suggested In this paper.