Innovating out of poverty

One of our many challenges as a country is lack of innovation. We have no products with our signature on them. This is bad for national pride. We need to start harnessing the wisdom of the crowd and encourage our creative people to come up with products we can be proud of. 

When such suggestions are made, it is important that we do not immediately think about financial constraints. The money always follows great ideas. Funding challenges should not stop us innovating our way out of poverty. 

I have a simple suggestion: we need to provide a platform where people can express themselves and showcase their ideas. We could come up with innovative ways of confronting our challenges in a meaningful and sustainable way. The best ideas always win and when they do, everyone is a winner. 

The agricultural, industrial, and now the technological revolutions helped to spur western economies. Africa needs to exploit existing technologies to confront its challenges.