Necessity is said to be the mother of all inventions and innovation.
21st century is the century when the world is experiencing hard times like the economic crunch, terrorism, «the Arab spring» and uprising in various countries, euro(€) crisis and bailout and a whole lot of other examples. What the world needs now is innovation in all aspects of the economy or life being it health, education, science, etc.
In this trying moments Africa is the worst culprit or victim. Africa as at now is the poorest continent in world rubbing shoulders with Asia but is the richest when it comes to natural resources. Let’s take such a country as Congo. It is situated in the central part of Africa. Its natural resources have been estimated so highly that Congo seems to satisfy the world population needs for 25 years ahead. But it is also characterized as one of the poorest countries in the world now. One will ask what is wrong with Congo or Africa as a whole.
Ghana is a country located in West Africa. Ghana is one of the peaceful countries in Africa, endowed with such natural resources as gold, bauxite, aluminum. Currently Ghana extracts and exports oil internationally. Ghana has attained a low middle income status which made the country leave the position of “HIPC”-Highly Indebted Poor Country.
With all the good stories heard and read about Ghana, it lacks a lot of basic amenities or facilities which should be a necessity for the normal Ghanaian but seems like a luxury.
The constant and uninterrupted flow of electric power and portable drinking water shouldn’t be a luxury but a need. Ghanaians who are living in the urban area do not really have problem with electricity and water but it is miserable in the rural part of Ghana. How many Ghanaians can afford three average basic meals a day?
The economy of Ghana is based on agriculture as its backbone but one will ask why does Ghana import rice, tomatoes and many other crops from neighboring countries and outside Africa?
What do we consider to be done in Ghana? What kind of innovation does Ghana need?
Primarily, it is the local improvement: This means what is being done locally needs an improvement for changing the life of Ghanaian people for the better.
Firstly, there is a considerable need to improve welfare conditions in Ghana, notably with regard to health issues such as there is very high rate mortality in Ghana due to HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera, tuberculosis and a number of other health related issues. A lot of children die of malaria every second in Ghana, due to bad disposable of refuse and bad sanitation of our water bodies and environs.
Secondly, Agriculture productivity and performance can also benefit considerably to technological improvement. Up till date in Ghana, a lot of farmers still use the old methods and equipment for farming; cutlasses, hoes, rake etc. How much can a man produce per hour using a hoe to cultivate a vast plot of land? There is the need to bring technology or innovation to the agriculture of Ghana, the introduction of new equipments, fertilizers can boost the productivity level of agriculture in Ghana.
Thirdly, Ghana is extraordinarily blessed with good weather and land. Ghana has two main seasons - the wet season and dry season. During the wet season there is downpour of rain and the weather is very cold but shiny. In this new age where solar energy is opted as an alternative of hydro or nuclear power, my country Ghana wastes sunshine which can generate a high volume of solar power which can be used by factories and households so to ease the pressure on the hydro-electric power from the Akosombo dam .
Finally, Ghana is refusing to exploit our unique advantage brought by our climate, geographical position as well as our cultural legacies for tourism developing. Some of the African countries have turned into attractive tourist centers. They are Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and others. In Angola tourism is the source of revenue and it has really boosted its economy. Therefore there is a need for Ghana to develop its tourism. This however requires sustain efforts for quality enhancement, the improvement of security and infrastructure development.
In fact innovation is often born out of the blending of indigenous knowledge with technological and organizational inputs from developed world. The key is to facilitate the proper exploitation or integration of such indigenous knowledge and know-how in projects relevant to Ghana.
References
Van Wyk R.J., [1988]Managing Technological Innovation: New Framework”, Technovation. Vol. 474.
Edosomwan J,A., [1989] Integrating Innovation and Technology Management, John Whiley &Sons,Canada.
Bright Nsiah Fordjour (Гана), Т. Б. Иванова
Российский университет дружбы народов (Москва, Россия)
Управление интеллектуальным капиталом. Материалы Международной научно-практической конференции (Екатеринбург, 27 апреля 2012 г.) Екатеринбург: Издательство Уральского государственного экономического университета, 2012.
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