Prof. Peter Onwualu, the President, The African University of Science and Technology (AUST) says ideas, innovation and knowledge should drive Africa’s economic transformation push.
Onwualu said this at the opening of the three-day AfricaX Summit on Monday in Abuja. The summit had its theme as: “Reshaping the Future of Africa through Innovation, Investment and Collaboration.”
Onwualu said that Africa had the potential to grow economically but it required intentional efforts, strategic thinking and a culture of innovation adopted by institutions, industries and the people.
“Innovation in its simplest form is the ability to see challenges not as problems but opportunities for development.
“Across Africa we are witnessing a powerful shift from dependency on traditional economic models to emergence of knowledge driven economies,.
“This ranges from FinTech, revolutionalising financial inclusion to agritech, improving food security and health tech, expanding access to healthcare.
“Innovation is no longer a luxury; it is an imperative. Innovation does not happen in isolation; it thrives in ecosystems that nurture creativity, encourage experimentation and support collaboration between academia, industry and government,” he said.
Onwualu said that education was the bedrock of solving critical national issues, adding that the future of Africa depended on how students think critically to solve complex problems and create values.
According to him, one of AUST’s proudest contributions in that regard is its Inspired Innovation hub, a mindset shift that challenges students to move past learning to active creation.
“Here ideas are nurtured, prototypes are built and solutions are tested for real world problems. Students are exposed to entrepreneurship, critical thinking and emerging technologies, equipping them not just to seek jobs, but to create them.
“By fostering this culture of innovation, AUST Inspired is directly contributing to Nigeria’s and Africa’s economic transformation, developing a new generation of thinkers, builders and innovators,” he said.
He further said that government needed to create the enabling environment through supportive policies and investments, while the private sector should play active role in funding partnerships, scaling innovation.
“Academic institutions must continue to evolve, aligning their curriculum with the needs of a rapidly changing world.
“It is only when these three groups of people work together, and each sector contributing its quota, that we can achieve a technology driven economic growth for Africa,” Onwualu said.
According to him, Africa’s challenges are unique and require localised innovation instead of relying on imported models that do not reflect our realities.
Mr Kingsley Ogwudu, Chairman, Africa X Summit organizing committee, said Africa had a huge youthful population, abundant natural resources, with an evolving digital landscape that could transform the economy of the continent.
Ogwudu said challenges such as climate change, inequality gaps, infrastructural deficits had overtime derailed progress in Africa.
“To overcome these hurdles, we must embrace innovation as the cornerstone of sustainable development through technology, policy reforms or creative problem-solving. Innovation must drive our efforts to build resilient economies and inclusive societies.
“As we seek to catalyse Africa’s growth we must attract both domestic and international capital while ensuring that these investments are aligned with the continent’s long-term goals,” he said.
He further said that collaboration among the government and private sectors, civil society organizations, international partners and other stakeholders was needed to create an ecosystem where ideas thrived. (NAN)
