Too many of West Africa’s most promising innovations never reach the people who need them most. R4D is supporting government leaders in Ghana and Nigeria to strengthen science, technology and innovation systems that transform research into real-world impact.
The Challenge
Ghana and Nigeria are making significant progress toward building strong science, technology and innovation (STI) ecosystems that can drive sustainable development and economic growth. While the two countries are at different stages in this journey, they face similar challenges that make it difficult for promising innovations to reach the people and markets they’re meant to serve.
Researchers and entrepreneurs often don’t have the support they need to move ideas from early-stage development to practical use — especially in key sectors like agriculture and energy. And the many actors involved in the innovation ecosystem, including government ministries, agencies, funders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and researchers, don’t always have effective ways to coordinate their efforts.
Without clear policy guidance and structured pathways to commercialization — the process of turning research and ideas into usable products or services — innovations often stall before they can make a real-world difference. Research may generate valuable insights, but without the right conditions, those solutions rarely reach the communities or institutions that could benefit. This limits the ability of local entrepreneurs and researchers to contribute to national development goals.
The Opportunity
Strengthening innovation ecosystems requires smart policy, sustained public investment, and strong collaboration among local innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, funders and government partners.
Government leaders in Ghana and Nigeria are prioritizing STI in their national development agendas and working with the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), UNESCO and Results for Development (R4D) to design and implement reforms that strengthen innovation ecosystems for long-term social and economic impact.
The Sankore Project is directly supporting the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (FMIST) in Nigeria and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MEST) in Ghana to deliver on their national and regional STI objectives. Key opportunities include enhancing STI policy and regulatory frameworks to better foster innovation, creating structured, demand-driven pathways for research commercialization, and improving coordination among government ministries, researchers, entrepreneurs, funders and international partners.
R4D’s Work
As a project implementing partner, R4D’s work focuses on evaluating and enhancing STI policies, facilitating sustainable and structured innovation commercialization pathways, and improving ecosystem coordination between innovation actors and stakeholders.
Working in collaboration with FMIST and MESTI, co-implementing partner UNESCO, and local delivery partners the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), R4D is:
- Developing policy recommendations to improve the regulatory environment for innovation and commercialization
- Supporting commercialization by providing technical advice and facilitation to help governments strengthen their collaboration with researchers and entrepreneurs to bring promising innovations to market
- Establishing an online Helpdesk that provides on-demand, quick-turn, tailored support and guidance to FCDO staff, FMIST, MEST and other innovation actors as questions and challenges arise
By taking a systems approach, the Sankore project aims to address underlying structural challenges — not just isolated issues — to ensure STI policies in Ghana and Nigeria translate into lasting social and economic impact.
Early results from Sankore’s launch, as well as ongoing coordination meetings with our partners, show increased engagement and awareness among governments and key innovation stakeholders, creating a strong foundation for long-term collaboration and commercialization success.
