It is essential to analyze the global progress of humanity and each country on the planet. This data allows world leaders to adjust their strategies, find the weak links in their countries’ development, or spread their success by exploring the opportunities to help other communities. The Global Innovation Index (GII) is a complex set of parameters that measure the economic performance of countries, highlight the most vital societal goals, and provide data regarding their most recent progress (Dutta et al.). This paper reviews the changes in GII of the following countries: Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Jordan.
The countries of choice remain relatively low in the ranking list of the most innovative countries on the globe. Over the 5-year period, their positions were fluctuating without a significant increase (see Fig. 1), with the exception of Tunisia, who has achieved position #65 in 2020, compared to #77 in 2016 (“Indicator Rankings & Analysis”). Most countries were able to uphold their positions for several years. African countries are more likely to increase their rankings by giving more attention to the implementation of innovative technologies.
To examine the reasoning behind these fluctuations, it is essential to analyze what measures were taken by these countries to improve their standings. Morocco has retained its position in GII over the 5-year period due to the improvements in technology adoption and IP usage (Dutta et al.). Dutta et al. state that “Kenya ranks 3rd in Sub-Saharan Africa and scores above its income and regional peers in Institutions, Market and Business sophistication, and Knowledge and technology outputs” (22) Mukora and Syekei state that “Kenya has established itself as a regional giant in innovation, which has facilitated rapid economic growth in the country within the past two decades.” Ghana, which has the lowest rank among the countries presented in this paper, does not show any significant improvements and performs below expectations for its level of development (Dutta et al.). Outside of these three countries, other African countries are experiencing relative improvement.
South Africa continues to take a higher position in the list among other African countries. This country has made significant progress towards market sophistication, reaching #15 in this category, partially due to the internationalization of inventions (Dutta et al.). The primary pillars that are behind its expected position are human capital and research and creative outputs (Dutta et al.). The country shows a promising future for investments into innovative technologies, as its market experiences steady growth.
Jordan has improved its ranking significantly in 2020, especially in regional standings. Jordan has seen improvements in multiple parameters, such as market and business sophistication, bringing it to #81 place (Dutta et al.). These changes are linked to the government’s tax incentives to venture capitalists, improved accessibility of credits, and other market-related factors, which led to a surge of private start-ups (“Jordan Climbs 5 Places to 81 on Global Innovation Index”). This country demonstrates that innovative power can come from investments outside of strictly scientific sectors.
The success behind Tunisia’s innovation rating lies in several factors. There is definite progress in the quality, quantity, and accessibility of educational facilities in the country (“Tunisia Moves Up 5 Spots to 65th in GII 2020”). Dutta et al. write that “the typical innovation leader in Africa usually has higher expenditure on education” (xxvii). Tunisia was also able to improve its research base and assimilate the usage of intellectual property into its economy (Dutta et al.). Moreover, these statistics show that the next priority for Tunisia should be market sophistication and general infrastructure (“Tunisia Moves Up 5 Spots to 65th in GII 2020”). Among the African countries, Tunisia’s performance is above average and exceeds expectations in many fields (“Tunisia Moves Up 5 Spots to 65th in GII 2020”). These measures play a critical role in the innovational process, and Tunisia has been able to prioritize its development over this period.
In conclusion, most of the presented countries experience growth in regard to some measurements related to innovations, and their efforts allow them to retain their positions with little change. However, the improvement rates are relatively slow, and some countries do not pay enough attention to data collecting, which results in unsatisfactory or inconclusive results. These countries do not actively promote science and technology, rely on foreign investments for R&D, do not make full use of intellectual property, and pose a challenging environment for businesses (Dutta et al.). Together, these countries show that there are various ways to achieve a sustainable society and increase the quality of life. The rates of improvement will slow down this year due to the virus lockdown and the crisis it created (Ditta et al.). Despite this fact, these countries have shown that they have the potential for innovations and have achieved some growth, albeit non-explosive and not always continuous. Findings suggest that there is an improvement that was procured before and can be completed in the future. It is vital to understand what the country can do in order to improve the life of its citizens, and GII serves as a useful tool in this task.
Works Cited
Dutta, Soumitra, et al.Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation? WIPO, Web.
“Indicator Rankings & Analysis.” Global Innovation Index, 2020, Web.
“Jordan Climbs 5 Places to 81 on Global Innovation Index.” Jordan Times, 2020, Web.
Mukora, Angela, and John Syekei. “Kenya Continues to Make Gains in the Global Innovation Index.” Bowmans, 2019, Web.
“Tunisia Moves Up 5 Spots to 65th in GII 2020.” TAP, 2020, Web.