Search

The South African bioeconomy strategy did not clearly articulate the measurement framework to monitor the implementation of the strategy. This paper provides an analysis of bioeconomy patents, the most prolific organizations and citations at the EPO and USPTO for South Africa, BRICS, Egypt and Nigeria during the Ten-Year Innovation Plan 2008–2018. The terms 'biotechnology', 'medical technology', 'pharmaceuticals' and 'selected environment-related technologies' were used to search for patents. The OECD patents by technology, the EPO PATSTAT and the USPTO PatFT databases were used to map patents and citations. The results show that South Africa ranked last in the BRICS group but produced a higher number of patents than Egypt and Nigeria. The number of patents generally decreased for the selected countries except for China. The total citations for the selected countries was generally inconsistent. The important innovators for South Africa in the bioeconomy are mainly universities and public research institutions. A new fiscal approach to encourage knowledge application in bioeconomy in South Africa is required. Incentives from government that encourage collaboration between research institutions and industry to direct research with industry application are required. The study contributes to the development of metrics to monitor the bioeconomy in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A region-adaptive hierarchical framework for realizing Sustainable Development Goal 7.3 is proposed in this paper, using Nigeria as a case study for strategy adoption and adaptation. In 2013, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rolled out strategic plans to phase out incandescent lamps by 2020, as a critical component essential to realizing the SDG 7 by 2030. However, at the expiration of the 2020 deadline, this ambition has not materialized. Current regulatory indicators for sustainable energy shared by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicated poor-to-average performances among member states, which suggests the need to adopt ingenious strategies to increase electricity access and accelerate energy efficiency by 2030. In this paper, we systematically reviewed literatures on past campaigns in ECOWAS member states and inferentially call for a revisit of the campaign to phase out incandescent bulbs as a critical component for achieving energy efficiency. The paper also pinpoints some domain factors that are militating against the realization of SDG 7 in Nigeria. We proposed an all-inclusive top-down hierarchical framework which involve all relevant stakeholders (national, state and local governments, delineated wards in local governments, street representatives and household heads), civil society organizations, and educational institutions, for convergence, efficient collaboration, synergy and achievement of goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa has rich energy resources but continues to remain an energy poor continent. The industrialization potential of the continent and its rapidly growing population have caused a sharp increase in demand for electricity. South Africa and Nigeria are the biggest economies in Africa with large appetites for energy. South Africa, using its vastly developed and industrial economy, produces about 50 GWe of electricity, the highest of any African country. In contrast, Nigeria produces far less for a population four times the size of its African economic rival, South Africa. Without solving the energy deficit, neither economic growth nor sustainable development and improvement of citizens' welfare will be possible. An effective way to solve the energy shortage may be the introduction of nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is not only able to overcome the electricity deficit in African countries, but can also contribute to a soft transition from environmentally polluting fossil-fuelled power plants to carbon-free technologies. However, for various reasons, there is strong opposition to nuclear energy development in these countries. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether the construction of nuclear power plants in Africa is the optimal solution to the continent's acute energy deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of patterns of university interaction for innovation that engenders inclusive development in Nigeria. Specifically, it explains innovative solutions for women empowerment that occurred through interaction between the University of Ibadan and the Ile-Ogbo community and its implication for sustainable development goals. It is a case of innovation and skills upgrading aimed at improving the livelihood conditions of women in a semi-urban marginalized community. The results demonstrate that interactions of the sampled respondents generated three types of innovation: process, products and marketing innovations, which promote livelihood of the marginalized women. It also identified a well-defined pathway that connects innovation to empowerment and how marginalized women can improve and control their earnings. The study concludes that interactions at the community level, that addressed livelihood problems of a typical marginalized community in an informal set up, can help in achieving sustainable development goals, especially that of women empowerment in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that locally developed innovation technology can foster sustainable growth and development, this study assessed the factors that underpinned the choice of improved biomass stoves among rural households in Kwara South, Nigeria. The study involved the use of primary and secondary data sources. The primary data were collected with the use of a well-structured questionnaire. A three-stage random sampling technique was used for the selection of one hundred and fifty (150) household respondents which represent the sample size used in this study. The secondary data were collected from FAO Forestry Department report. Descriptive statistic and a five-point Likert type scale were used for the data analysis. The results revealed that easiness to purchase fuel and the ability of the fuel to cook quickly were the major factors underlying the choice of cooking stove and fuel used among rural households in the study area. The result also revealed that the clay charcoal stove consumed 17.86MJ/meal while clay lining metal charcoal stove and the local metal charcoal stove consumed 22.48MJ and 36.96MJ per meal, respectively. Improving access to and cost implications of the biomass fuel and stove can enhance the adoption of improved biomass stoves and this will help in sustainable use of biomass energy resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of the Nigerian economy – compared to other developed country – is poor and there is an urgent need to improve the situation to guarantee sustainable development. Previous studies have shown that accelerators are viable options, therefore this research studied the factors that affect the performance of accelerators in Silicon Valley. The methodology adopted is a quantitative approach that synthesized previous studies – while providing empirical evidence through a case analysis of accelerators in Silicon Valley. In the course of this study, a theory called the 'Sustainable Startup Growth' theory was developed and explored. This theory examined the hypothesis that the quality of services offered by accelerators is more important than the number of startups accelerated, and the sectoral concentration of accelerators is an important factor in its performance. Herein, secondary data were collected and analyzed using the statistical method known as the Multiple Regression Analysis. The results obtained show that the quality of service offered by accelerators was more important than the number of accelerators and their area of specialization was important in attracting venture capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]