Description

Between October 2024 and March 2025, the Scinnovent Centre and its partners—the Association of African Universities (AAU), ATDF Entrepreneurship Hub (AEH), and Solution Lab Consultancy (SLC)—implemented a project supporting African Science Granting Councils (SGCs) in strengthening private sector engagement and commercialization of research. The project focused on post-training technical support to help Councils conduct institutional IP audits, develop IP policies and strategies, pilot public-private partnership (PPP) plans, implement commercialization frameworks, and contribute to the Technomart platform. Progress was reported across several countries: MUBAS in Malawi completed data collection for an IP audit and shared its experience regionally; COSTECH in Tanzania conducted audits and ecosystem trainings; NSTIC in Sierra Leone launched pilot audits and reviewed national IP policy; Kenya’s NRF finalized draft IP policy and strategy; Namibia conducted a national training workshop and developed its institutional IP framework; while Côte d’Ivoire advanced preparations for its audit at FONSTI. Additionally, national stakeholder workshops and piloting of commercialization tools took place in Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire. Councils also began uploading research data to the Technomart platform, with training and peer-learning facilitated by AAU and UNCST.