Background
The list of establishments in the table beneath is not intended to be comprehensive. It is a sample of diverse contexts, namely, government, government-owned company, NGO, university and private sector.
The data will be clarified over the course of research (currently, there are many gaps). My intention, besides writing a report, is to find more user-friendly and interactive ways to display the information.
Basic data on a sample of establishments (preliminary)
| Institution | Year of foundation | Achievements | Forward strategy |
| Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI)(1) | 1978/2012 | Dust and surgical masks; health and education computer informatics; bio-gas; materials science lab(2) | n.d.* |
| China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Namibian engineering technology R&D center(3) | 2023 | n.d. | n.d. |
| Central Agricultural Research Institute [Liberia] | 1948/1980/2006(4) | n.d. | CARI STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-2025 |
| Centre béninois de la recherche scientifique et technique (CBRST)(5) | 1986 | n.d. | n.d. |
| Centre for Innovation and Industrial Research (CIIR) [Malawi] | 1993/2014(6) | n.d. | n.d. |
| Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) [Côte d’Ivoire](7) | 1998 | n.d. | n.d. |
| Centre national de recherches industrielles et technologiques (CNRIT) [Madagascar](8) | 1987/1992 | Fruit drying equipment; bio gas; refractory bricks; volcanic fertilizers | n.d. |
| CGIAR (Africa Rice Center, ILRI, CIFOR-ICRAF and IITA)(8a) | 1978(8b) | n.d. | Multiple strategies seem to be either active or recently elapsed although I did not yet make a full survey(8c) |
| Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) [Ghana](9) | 1959/1968/1996 | n.d. | CSIR Strategic Plan 2023-2027 |
| Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) [South Africa](9a) | 1945 | Tellurometer; heavy vehicle simulator; Li-ion battery materials; prosthetic ligament; water-soluble polymers; titanium processing | ‘Annexure A: Strategic Plan’, in: CSIR SHAREHOLDER’S COMPACT 2023/24 (pp. 28-83) |
| Eskom Research and Innovation Centre (ERIC) [South Africa] | 1923/1985(10) | n.d. | Eskom RT&D Overview, 2018, National Science and Technology Forum |
| Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) [Nigeria] | 1956 | Palm wine bottling; soap making machines; mechanization of garri processing; production of beauty cream.(11) | n.d. |
| Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) | 1952 | Nuclear reactor (halted by coup against Nkrumah, later supplied by China); plant tissue culture; virus-resistant cassava and cocoa plants.(12) | The Ghanaian government proposes to build a nuclear power station by 2030 |
| Google Research [Ghana] | 2018 | Google Maps for Africa; Google Translate for Sub-Saharan African languages | AI research and its applications |
| IBM Research [South Africa; Kenya] | 2013 | Software that maps boreholes for water | n.d. |
| Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA)(13) | 1921/1974 | n.d. | Research priorities |
| Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)(14) | 1942/2022 | Ignition system for locomotive boilers; furfural from agricultural waste; coffee processing; drying of papain, sisal and pyrethrum flowers. | KIRDI Strategic Plan 2021-2026; Kenya Vision 2030 |
| Mintek [South Africa] | 1934 | n.d. | Mintek Shareholder’s Compact 2022/23, pp. 13-19 |
| National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) [The Gambia](15) | 1993 | n.d. | n.d. |
| National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) [Zambia] | 1998 | Nutritious blends and nutrient fortification of food; bio-gasoline; monitoring of water quality and environmental contamination from mining; cassava breeding(16) | n.d. |
| Nestlé (R&D Centre; Zambakro Experimental Farm) [Côte d’Ivoire] | 2009/2013 | Tailoring products to local tastes; increasing productivity of coffee and cocoa; ‘bio-fortification’ of food crops. | n.d. |
| Sappi (SSA Technology Centre; Sappi Shaw Research Centre)(17) [South Africa] | 1959 | Paper technology, e.g., oxygen bleaching; dissolving Eucalyptus pulp; enzymes to control extractives in a sulphite mill; genetically-improved planting stocks. | Sappi 2022 Annual Integrated Report, p. 88 |
| Sasol R&T campus [South Africa] | Coal to gasoline technology | Sasol Integrated Report 2022, pp. 33, 48, 54, 55 | |
| Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI)(18) | 1910/1985/2007 | ‘Prototypes for the Green Revolution’ linked to the work of the Rokupr rice research station(19) | Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute Strategic Plan 2012-2021 |
| Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO) | 1979 | Coal quality assessment; non-destructive testing of gas pipelines; barcode traceability system for agricultural products | n.d. |
| Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) | 2003 | Medical device for intravenous infusion | n.d. |
R&D establishments associated with major cash crops (preliminary)
| Crops | Major producer(s) | R&D establishment(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa, coffee, tea | Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya | Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG); Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA); Nestlé (R&D Centre; Zambakro Experimental Farm) |
| Cotton, rubber | Benin, Côte d’Ivoire | Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB); |
| Fruit | South Africa |
Selected facilities in universities and polytechnics (preliminary)
| Facility | Explanation |
|---|---|
| TETFund Centre of Excellence (TCoE) | Nigeria |
| DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence (CoE) | South Africa |
| Technology Stations Program (TSP) | South Africa |
| Nelson Mandela Institute of Science and Technology | Tanzania |
| Kenya-AIST | Kenya |
Sources (preliminary)
(1) Merger of previous Botswana Technology Centre (abbreviated as either BTC or BOTOC) and Rural Industrial Innovation Centre (RIIC), founded 1978, possibly as part of the appropriate technology movement, with US funding, citing, e.g., Holland Committee on Southern Africa (1980).
(2) BITRI Annual Report 2017/2018, pp. 6-8 (the most recent annual report posted online)
(3) Associated with the large Rössing uranium mine, formerly operated by Rio Tinto since it opened in the 1970s, but by China National Nuclear Corporation since 2019. The year cited refers to a press release reporting the unveiling or launching of a research centre. There is obviously a longer history of scientific expertise connected with the uranium deposit that dates back to the 1960s.
(4) The Central Agricultural Experiment Station (CARES) was founded in 1948. A successor, the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), was founded in 1980. Civil war at the end of the last century and into the early 2000s destroyed scientific activity. Research operations restarted in 2006.
(5) It is unknown to me if the institution is still operating.
(6) ‘In 1990, the Malawi Industrial Research and Technology Development Centre (MIRTDC) was established under the Ministry of Trade and Industry through Trust Deed, 1991 and became operational in 1993. Following the merger between the Malawi University of Science and Technology and MIRTDC in 2014, the Centre was renamed Industrial Research Centre (IRC). The Office of the Vice Chancellor, on behalf of Senate, approved the renaming of the IRC in July 2019 to become the Centre for Innovation and Industrial Research (CIIR)’, https://www.must.ac.mw/centre-for-innovation-and-industrial-research-2-2/
(7) ‘The Centre National de Recherche Agronomique de Côte d’Ivoire was created in 1998 after the dissolution of several research structures (IDEFOR, IDESSA, CIRT)’, ‘Historique’, https://cnra.ci/le-cnra/.
(8) Citing a news report by Mirana Ihariliva dated 7 December 2021, the institute suffered a destructive fire on 24 November 2021. Data on achievements are taken from the same report.
(8a) IITA operates ·research and administrative hubs and stations· in Kinshasa, Bukavu, Cameroon, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Benin, Accra, Tamale, Abuja, Kano and Ibadan (the latter is the headquarters). I did not yet confirm this list or look at the other centers.
(8b) Africa Rice Center (originally called WARDA), ILRI, CIFOR-ICRAF and IITA founded, respectively, 1971, 1973/1974/1994, 1978 and 1967.
(8c) ICRAF-WCA Strategic Plan 2018-2026, Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Strategy (2015-2024); CIFOR-ICRAF 2020-2030 Strategy, CGIAR Research Programs, Strategy on Tree-based Energy, Gender Strategy and Action Plan; Livestock research for food security and poverty reduction: ILRI strategy 2013-2022; Transformation of Rice-based Agri-food Systems for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa: 2030 Rice Research and Innovation Strategy for Africa. This is not a comprehensive list.
(9) ‘The Council was established in its present form by NLC Decree 293 of 10th October, 1968 and re-established by CSIR Act 521 of 26th November, 1996. The Council, however, traces its ancestry to the erstwhile National Research Council (NRC), which was established by the Research Act 21 of August, 1958, a little over a year after independence, to organize and co-ordinate scientific research in Ghana and provide the necessary platform for Ghana’s accelerated development.’ https://csir.org.gh/index.php/about-us. CSIR, 1988, The Contribution of Agricultural, Industrial, Medical, and Social Sciences Research to the Development of Ghana: Proceedings of a Symposium Organized from 14th-16th February 1984 on the Occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the CSIR.
(9a) History of the organization is described in Kingwill (1990) The CSIR: the First Forty Years; and Basson (1996) Passage to Progress: The CSIR’s Journey of Change 1945-1995.
(10) Current buildings at the Rosherville laboratories possibly date from 1980s but the history of R&D in this company goes back much further.
(11) Mwamadzingo, 1997, ‘Science and technology for sustainable industrial growth in Africa: the prospects for institutional cooperation’, in: Mwega and Seshamani, Economic Management in Sub Saharan Africa: Lessons from the 1970s and 1980s and Prospects for the 1990s and Beyond, pp. 109-117; FIIRO, 2006, FIIRO’s contribution to research and development in five decades: in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi.
(12) https://gaec.gov.gh/gaec-to-support-increase-production-of-important-medicinal-plants/; Schlegel, 2017, History of Plant Breeding; GAEC, 1998, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission At a Glance, Third Edition, p. 16; Amuasi, The History of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission 1963-2003: Forty Years of Nuclear Science and Technology Applications in Ghana; Abena Dove Osseo-Asare, 2019, Atomic Junction: Nuclear Power in Africa after Independence
(13) Established as a French colonial institution; managed by French officials even after independence with a focus on developing peanut cash crops on behalf of overseas companies. The institution was transferred to Senegalese government control in 1974 (‘sénégalisation‘).
(14) The institute, which was once known as the ‘Central Laboratory’ of the Kenya Industrial Management Board and, later, the East African Industrial Research Organization, traces its origins to British colonial rule and then through an East African grouping of states; however, the modern institution was founded on a new legal basis in 2022. . The comments are based on a search and of the UNECA Repository and Google, giving back, e.g. https://www.nature.com/articles/1831789b0; https://repository.uneca.org/ds2/stream/?#/documents/c189f007-b092-498a-84d2-e78069980371/page/3; https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/19287, p.22-23; https://repository.uneca.org/bitstream/handle/10855/19287/Bib-65243.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00128325.1969.11662323; https://core.ac.uk/reader/157498150.
(15) ‘The National Agricultural Research Institute was established in 1993, by an act of parliament of the republic of The Gambia. NARI evolved from the department of agricultural research, of the then Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.’, http://narigambia.gm/about-nari/
(16) https://nisir.org.zm/research-projects/
(17) Commercial entity associated with Sappi (paper manufacturing). The company also reports R&D centres in Europe and the USA. https://www.sappi.com/ssa-technology-centre; https://www.sappi.com/es/research-planning-and-nurseries; Hocking, 1987, Paper Chain: the Story of Sappi, pp. 159-161. https://www.sappi-ir-reports.co.za/online-reports/air-2022/pdf/iar-full-latest.pdf, p. 88
(18) ‘Sierra Leone has had a long history of agricultural research spanning almost 100 years.
The West Africa Institute for Oil palm Research (WAIFOR) at Njala, the Bambawo
Forestry Research Station near Kenema and the Rice Research Station at Rokupr were
pioneer research centres in West Africa during the colonial era. In the mid eighties, the
National Agricultural Research Coordinating Council (NARCC) was established by the
government of Sierra Leone to coordinate research and harmonize activities of the two
existing research institutions (Rice Research Institute and the Institute of Agricultural
Research)…The devastation of research infrastructure during the war and the departure of well-trained scientists during this period brought agricultural research to a halt. Since 2001, many of the scientists have returned and there is goodwill from the Government and partners to resuscitate the research establishment.’ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sie199283.pdf (pp. xii and 2).
(19) The development of rice production in Sierra Leone is a relatively well-known but fascinating multi-national history, citing Poppel, 2014, ‘Quick rice: international development and the Green Revolution in Sierra Leone, 1960-1976’, in: The Routledge History of Food. The rice research institute is identified by Poppel as a part the story (pp. 343-344).
Relevant journals include African Journals Online (AJOL), Ghana Journal of Technology, Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (list will be expanded gradually). AJOL gives back 70 journal titles under the category of “Technology, Computer Science & Engineering”. This is likely to form the backbone of any automated text mining system for investment propositions that I am looking into.
Science Think Tank 