Mudavadi urges Africa to shift from technology consumption to innovation leadership

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi called for African nations to shift from merely consuming technology to becoming leaders in innovation. Speaking at the opening of the Africa Technology Leadership Conference (ATLC) 2026 in Nairobi on October 22, 2026, Mudavadi urged the continent to invest in research, technology, and innovation to move beyond importing solutions and become a producer of technological products and intellectual property.

He noted that Africa possesses the necessary human capital, expanding markets, and entrepreneurial talent but requires sustained investment in research institutions, stronger industry partnerships, and improved commercialization of homegrown innovations. Mudavadi challenged governments, researchers, investors, and businesses to transform existing digital strategies and policies into tangible economic gains, emphasizing the need for technological independence and economic competitiveness.

He cited Kenya's M-Pesa as an example of an African innovation achieving global relevance with proper infrastructure and business models. Mudavadi outlined four priorities for strengthening Africa's technological position: integrating science and technology into diplomatic engagement, connecting research to capital, industry, and markets, building trust, data sovereignty, and resilience through strong cybersecurity and data regulations, and establishing measurable targets for research funding, commercialized technologies, investment mobilization, partnerships, and economic value generation.