The 2025 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) report takes stock of the global innovation trends, technological progress, adoption rates, and socio-economic impacts across the world’s 139 economies. With some economies continuously progressing and others playing catch-up, Esther Oluka examines what African countries can do differently to thrive in the world of innovation and enterprise.
Several African countries still face enormous challenges in their quest to excel in enterprise and innovation. With challenges ranging from bureaucracy to a deprived business environment, corruption, knowledge and technical skills gaps, funding gaps, and poor infrastructure, among others, African countries still have a long way to go before competing favourably with their counterparts in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
The 2025 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) report, titled “Innovation at a Crossroads,” says it all. While laying bare the performance of 139 economies worldwide, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of innovation ecosystems by tracking global innovation trends through investment patterns, technological progress, adoption rates, and socio-economic impacts.
Some sub-Saharan African countries are doing reasonably well in the 2025 innovation and enterprise index spectrum. Mauritius is the best placed on the continent, ranking 53rd out of 139 global economies. South Africa is second in sub-Saharan Africa but ranks 61st globally. Seychelles ranks 75th globally, followed by Botswana (87) and Senegal (89). In North Africa, Morocco ranks 57th globally, followed by Tunisia (76) and Egypt (86).
The GII report attributes the notable performance of the top-ranked African countries to several factors, including robust infrastructure, advanced digital systems, robust research and development environments, and grounded policies.
On the other side of the innovation spectrum, Uganda ranks 124th among the 139 economies featured in the Index, performing worse in innovation outputs than in innovation inputs in 2025. Other lower African countries included in the Index report are Burundi in the 127th position, Zimbabwe (129), Guinea (133), Ethiopia (134), Mali (135), the Democratic Republic of Congo (137), Angola (138), and Niger, graded as the lowest in the 139th position.
These countries, combined, rank low in the global innovation index due to several factors, including low investment in research and development, knowledge and skills gaps, lukewarm innovation policies, and poor infrastructure.
Globally, Switzerland ranks 1st in the innovation and enterprise index, followed by Sweden (2), the United States of America (3), and South Korea (4). Singapore is in 5th place, while the United Kingdom (UK) is in 6th place. According to the index report, the countries are doing well due to a combination of factors that struggling African economies could learn from to move forward.
Lessons for African economies
While the rankings paint a sobering picture for much of the continent, the GII report also offers a clear roadmap for countries seeking to reverse this trajectory. It highlights practical areas where African economies can make strategic shifts to strengthen their innovation ecosystems, boost competitiveness, and unlock long‑term growth. From technology adoption to education reform and infrastructure development, the lessons below outline the critical steps Africa needs to take to move from the margins of global innovation to a position of meaningful influence.
(i) Increased adoption of technology
It is already public knowledge that the technology in most African countries lags behind that in other continents. And with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitalisation already sweeping across numerous sectors, it is time for African countries to take the technology shift seriously and invest heavily in it.
As highlighted in the GII report, more investment is needed in safe sanitation, internet connectivity, robot adoption, electric cars, high-speed rail networks, and health-related technologies.
Mr Geoffrey Kazibwe, an information technology specialist, says a country like Uganda would blossom if it were highly invested in these areas.
“Imagine the jobs that would be created and time and money that would be saved,” Mr Kazibwe says, adding, “And for the investment in health-related technology, that alone would save so many lives.”
But unless the top leadership starts to serve with urgency, discipline, and integrity, everything else is a dream, says Mr Kazibwe.
(ii) Catching up to the digital revolution
Similarly, in line with innovation, African economies should this year invest more in the digital sector. Several African countries still struggle with internet access compared to other advanced countries in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. In advanced countries like Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, a vibrant startup ecosystem is driven by their digital readiness. There is free internet access for their citizens, offering numerous benefits, including boosting digital literacy, increasing civic engagement, and providing education and employment-related support. African economies can enjoy similar benefits with serious investment.
(iii) Investing in a practical education system
Stories are often told that children born in African families are time and again advised by their parents to study hard and pass their examinations. Most parents’ interest is in seeing mostly outstanding grades. It is a different story in other continents. Studies are mostly a blend of theory and practical classes for children right from an early age. And if a child is passionate about the creative arts or sports, their parents support them from a young age.
“African countries should wake up. You don’t wait until University to have an internship at 22. Training should be undertaken at an early age, as young as 15 years, so that when you are older, you are already as sharp as iron, not struggling to find employment,” says Sharon Atieno, a teacher and researcher.
Investing heavily in practical lessons, from primary school to university, should be pushed by respective African education ministries to thrive in enterprise and innovation, Atieno advises.
Top performers like Korea and Singapore, according to the Innovation Index, share common strengths, such as strong education systems and a sound, innovative private sector. The top African countries, like Morocco, also have a strong education investment characterised by skills development and high-quality training. Meanwhile, Malaysia, located in Southeast Asia, leads in producing graduates in science and engineering, the Index report acknowledges.
(iv) Research and Development
African economies should invest heavily in research and development, just like their counterparts in Asian, European, and North and South American countries do. Some of the flourishing areas to invest in include biotechnology, electronics, pharmaceuticals, software applications, aerospace, and energy. This way, numerous job opportunities will be created, infrastructure will be improved, and consumption of products from local markets will increase, ultimately lessening the importation of foreign products. The United States, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore top the list of highly ranked countries in research and development, which in turn drives high technical output.
(v) Asset development
From developing factories and growing the real estate market to investing in tourism and hydropower resources, African economies should focus more on these areas this year. Countries can milk long-term benefits from developing these assets. Morocco, according to the Innovation Index, is doing well in entrepreneurship and innovation because of the development of intangible assets in buildings, plant and machinery, and even land.
“Other African countries are also engaged in asset development, but amidst very many challenges,” says Atieno, adding, “We need to restrategise and be more intentional in developing national assets even with our problems. This should be coupled with promoting efficiency, utilising technology, and tapping into our networks.”
A growing number of other middle- and low-income economies in Malawi, Senegal, and Rwanda, the Index report says, are steadily improving thanks to business sophistication.
(vi) Old guard giving way to youth
Ms Santa Ategeki is a 2016 graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. Since her graduation, Ategeki has applied for several jobs in vain.
“I have done everything humanly possible to get a job, but nothing is working out,” she says.
She has also utilised her networks, asking them to connect her with potential employers, something that has not worked out as well.
Ategeki is not alone. There are many graduates across Africa without jobs. What’s worse is that some of the old guard do not want to retire, leaving no room for the younger generation to bring new energy and ideas to address modern challenges. In the process, the knowledge and skills of the affected graduates go to waste.
According to a 2023 Afrobarometer survey, which provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations, unemployment tops the list of the most important problems African youth want their government to address. This is while bearing in mind that the youth are largely more educated than their elders, owing to the elevation of the invisible bar for success, yet they remain unemployed. Against this background, African countries should pay more attention to providing youth with job opportunities so that they can use their acquired knowledge and skills to grow their respective economies.
(vii) Improving transport infrastructure
A weak transport sector in most African countries continues to slow development in entrepreneurship and innovation. The poorly constructed roads continuously cause accidents; the railway systems do not extend to faraway locations; water transport lacks modern cargo vessels; and air transport remains cramped due to operational and skills gaps, among other challenges. This is unlike countries in Asia, Europe, or North and South America, which have remarkable Air, rail, road, and water transport systems.
Mr Silas Isabirye, a researcher, says that if it were not for the corruption and greed of most African leaders, African countries would be much further along in development.
“Money that is supposed to be invested in these infrastructures is always diverted by our shrewd leaders. The media itself always reports these stories,” Mr Isabirye says.
The 2025 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report says the vice remains a serious problem in Africa. According to the CPI report, South Sudan and Somalia are the most corrupt countries in Africa. Concrete action against corruption that is undermining access to essential services should be taken, the report advises.
Going by the findings of the 2025 Global Innovation Index, Africa’s innovation gap is not a mystery but a consequence of long‑standing structural weaknesses — from poor infrastructure and limited research investment to skills shortages and weak digital readiness. As the report notes, countries that perform well combine “robust infrastructure, advanced digital systems, [and] grounded policies,” while those at the bottom struggle with “low investment in research and development, knowledge and skills gaps… and poor infrastructure.” Closing this gap will require deliberate, sustained action, from embracing technology, reforming education, empowering youth, strengthening transport systems, and rooting out corruption, if African countries wish to compete and thrive in the global innovation landscape in 2026 and beyond.
