HARAMBEE: the spirit of innovation in Africa

Is Africa the dark continent or the bright continent? Is this Africa's century? How many inventions have been made in Africa? Is the nature of innovation in Africa different from elsewhere? Do you know the difference between tef and TEF; or a SolarTurtle, a Turtle car from Ghana and a satellite-tagged loggerhead turtle? How many African countries have produced their own cars? Why is the M-Pesa mobile money system so important? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this remarkable book - the first of its kind. Over 800 inventions and innovations by more than 600 innovators from 50 African countries are discussed, and a variety of issues related to innovation are debated. From mompreneurs to moguls, waste pickers to fintech wizards, locust whisperers to rocket scientists, robocops to internet-enabled balloons, surfing therapy to gin flavoured with elephant dung, shweshwe cloth to microsatellites, you will be astounded by the creativity of the continent's techpreneurs. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of Africa.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Human Science Research Council SA
Published
2026-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14749/32362296
Primary Topic
Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

HARAMBEE: the spirit of innovation in Africa

Human Sciences Research Council
Human Science Research Council SA
Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
article

HARAMBEE: the spirit of innovation in Africa

Human Sciences Research Council
article en

Abstract

Is Africa the dark continent or the bright continent? Is this Africa's century? How many inventions have been made in Africa? Is the nature of innovation in Africa different from elsewhere? Do you know the difference between tef and TEF; or a SolarTurtle, a Turtle car from Ghana and a satellite-tagged loggerhead turtle? How many African countries have produced their own cars? Why is the M-Pesa mobile money system so important? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this remarkable book - the first of its kind. Over 800 inventions and innovations by more than 600 innovators from 50 African countries are discussed, and a variety of issues related to innovation are debated. From mompreneurs to moguls, waste pickers to fintech wizards, locust whisperers to rocket scientists, robocops to internet-enabled balloons, surfing therapy to gin flavoured with elephant dung, shweshwe cloth to microsatellites, you will be astounded by the creativity of the continent's techpreneurs. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of Africa.

Human Science Research Council SA
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
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HARAMBEE: the spirit of innovation in Africa — Human Sciences Research Council · Human Science Research Council SA (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS