The third East African Community (EAC) Regional Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Conference was attended by more than 300 stakeholders composed of senior government officials, researchers, and members of academics from across Africa to share experiences, best practices and applications of science technology and innovation outputs.
Walter Oyawa, director general of Kenya’s National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, said that the region is keen to prioritize research to develop products that will improve the quality of lives of the people in the region. “There is an urgent need to focus on research and innovations because they are the backbone of any society’s development,” Oyawa said.
He noted that Kenya has set a target to devote at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product to funding research and development so that it can produce tangible innovations to transform society.
Amos Nungu, director general of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, said that the bulk of innovations used in Africa are imported from the rest of the world. “Tanzania plans to revise its education policy in order to inculcate the aspect of technological innovations from an early age,” Nungu added.
Sylvance Okoth, executive secretary of the East African Science and Technology Commission, said that through joint development and application of technology, the region can emerge as an innovation hub. Okoth added that the region should commercialize its rich indigenous technologies to improve its productive capabilities.
Source: https://english.news.cn/20240307/88d3a37a48854ca48feeac68247eb9b3/c.html#:~:text=The%20third%20East%20African%20Community,applications%20of%20science%20technology%20and