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Third Regional Conference on Innovation Systems and Innovative Cluster in Africa

Under the theme "Stimulating Competitiveness for Sustainable Economic Development", the third regional conference in Africa will take place in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on September 3-7, 2006. Please note that the venue has changed and the conference will be in the Kunduchi Beach Hotel and Resort in Dar es Salaam. The Opening eremony will be on September 03 (Sunday) at 17 Hours.

Participants from the academia and R&D institutions, industry, Government and other policy bodies, financial institutions, NGOs, and regulatory bodies are expected to attend the Conference from Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. Also Participants from Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and South Africa have been invited. In addition to resource persons, some representatives of regional and international organizations as well as development partners have been invited.

The College of Engineering and Technology of the University of Dar es Salaam will again organize and host the 3rd Regional Conference on Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters in Africa, from September 3-7, 2006. The Sub-theme of the Conference has been chosen to be "Stimulating Competitiveness for Sustainable Economic Development".

As outcomes of the Conference it is expected in the main to enable refinement of implementation aspects of the Innovation Systems and Clusters Programme in Eastern Africa (ISCP-EA) and thereby ensure success of the same. It is also expected to facilitate enhanced awareness and appreciation, by the various actors, of innovation systems and innovative clusters, as means towards achieving innovativeness, competitiveness and hence economic growth. Finally, it is expected to establish a forward agenda for the achievement in Eastern Africa of enhanced dynamism, competitiveness, and sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.

For more information on the conference and the program, download the Conference Journal .

Background information

For the Eastern African Region, Innovations in the form of new products, services and processes are the bases for sustainable growth and prosperity in a knowledge-based society. And, the fundamental factors necessary for the development of innovations include skills, the exchange of knowledge and opportunities for mutual learning as part of the interaction between businesses, research institutions and political bodies.

Cluster development has attained considerable attention over the last decade, not least as an operational means to enhance the competitiveness of firms and regions. This is largely due to its responsiveness to the demands of the new economy for; speed, quality, flexibility, innovation, networking and building critical mass. Thus, early establishment of the clustering behaviour is particularly important in supporting the development of competitiveness of emerging industries, and hence laying of a solid foundation for a competitive and dynamic economy with high productivity. Through clustering, even a small firm can gain the necessary critical mass to service world markets.

Since 2003, the College of Engineering and Technology (CoET) of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has spearheaded an initiative towards the establishment of an Innovation Systems and Clusters Programme in Eastern Africa with a view to fast-tracking socio-economic development in this region. In February 2004, CoET hosted the 1st Regional Conference on Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters in Africa, in Bagamoyo. In January 2005, CoET organized, in Bagamoyo again, a National Stakeholders Workshop on the Establishment of an Innovation Systems and Clusters Programme in Tanzania (ISCP-Tz). And, in March 2005, a 2nd Regional Conference on Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters in Africa was hosted, in Jinja, by the Faculty of Technology of Makerere University. The two Regional Conferences and the National Stakeholders Workshop resolved to establish an Innovation Systems and Clusters Programme in Eastern Africa (ISCP-EA). Training courses were held in Bagamoyo, Tanzania and Jinja, Uganda on; "The Development of Innovation Systems and Clusters" to prepare ground and participants for the implementation of the pilot phase of ISCP-EA, by the 15 selected pilot cluster initiatives - 8 in Tanzania and 7 in Uganda. The 8 pilot cluster initiatives in Tanzania were officially launched in February 2006.