April 10, 2023August 30, 2023

CEFTER, Nigeria Tackles Post Harvest Loss in the Sub-region through Improved Technologies

The lack of adequate capacity and technologies to protect harvest in the Africa sub-region have resulted in an annual post-harvest loss estimated between 35-50 percent of food produced (Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Network (FANRPAN), Globally, ending poverty, increasing food and nutrition security, and promoting responsible consumption and production are part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1, 2 and 12 respectively.

Inspired by their mandate as empowered by the World Bank ACE program, the Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER) has committed significant resources in the direction of propelling intellectual contributions towards the ultimate control of post-harvest losses in west and central Africa. CEFTER is rewriting the continent’s history with its innovative research outcomes. These efforts have resulted in the production of life-changing technological innovations targeted at rural farmers to enhance the agricultural value chain and strengthen food security generally within the sub-Saharan Africa.

Specifically, CEFTER has powered game-changing innovations aimed at improving soybeans cultivation and processing for optimal market efficiency such as the introduction of soya oil, and soya milk. Based on the innovative research findings from the center, the formulation of nutritional yoghurt from soybean was birthed. Subsequently, CEFTER has set up a factory for yoghurt production, contributing significantly to enhancing the livelihoods of target farming communities.

Through the centre’s Post Graduate Hub, resources have been mobilized to coordinate the design and fabrication of a thermal solar dryer for vegetables and fruit processing. This innovation provides a healthy and fast method of drying food items like yam, cassava, and potatoes, amongst other crops and others.

With intentions of commercializing the initiative, a pilot-scale consumer-based study has been carried out to enable the Centre to review notes and launch the commercial version in significant quantities. This version when completed will be used by the Center’s agricultural extension team to sensitize farmers and prepare the market to accommodate the technology in line with the expected outcomes of the project. The machine was exhibited at the National Technology Innovation Expo in Abuja in March 2021.

Cassava is a food item that is produced in large quantities across west and central Africa. In Nigeria over the years, the demand for this multi-purpose product has been far below the supply, thus leading to a significant waste of this all-important food product. To help situate efforts in this regard, Cassava Cookies, CEFTER-sponsored research by Dorcas Nguemo Kundama student, on the use of cassava flour for the production of cookies was introduced through rigorous laboratory tests. This has been subsequently approved for production in commercial quantities. Through this research, a highly nutritious cassava-based cookie has been formulated by our students. The cookies are being supplemented as part of homegrown feeding programmes for pupils under the Federal Government of Nigeria, thus yielding good revenue for the Centre.

Some other notable innovations produced by the CEFTER include: Freeze drier, Fish processing machine, Motorized groundnut shelling machine and threshers, fruit juice pasteurizer, Ohmic heating system and pulsed electric field equipment for pasteurization of milk and juice, solar driers, as well as integrated energy driers.

In strict compliance with conventional digital trends, CEFTER recently launched the e-agricultural extension network to fill in the gap and mediate between other relevant agricultural agencies whose activities directly impact rural farmers. To this end, over 300 volunteer e-extension workers were trained on various aspects of the project, connecting farmers to relevant information that would enhance agricultural practices and inspire the application of agricultural research findings.

To end the constant frustrations that rural farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural businesses face in the hands of middlemen in agro-business, CEFTER in collaboration with other partners, launched the CEFTER e-commerce Platform for small, medium, and large-scale farmers, with customers comprising of wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. The technology has the central objective of making agribusiness simple, fast, secure, and affordable. The technology has been deployed and the experiential testimonies from both farmers and consumers are heartwarming. Farmers get value for their products, waste is significantly reduced, and buyers can be easily located on the platform,

Another area of impact is the short-term courses developed by the centre. So far, about 1437 participants have benefited from these courses, stretching from national and regional communities. 65 people benefited from a regional training on Basic Food hygiene and safety was organized in 2021. Southern Cameroon is in crisis with a large majority of it’s population displaced due to drought and food scarcity. The people living in displaced communities and internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps are vulnerable to food-borne diseases and contaminations. The training created awareness among the IDPs and refugees to be able to innovatively store and process food in better hygienic conditions. The training further covered topics such as the processing of Yam and Plantain, as well as the making of Sanitizers.

April 10, 2023August 30, 2023

Pushing the Frontiers of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa’s Higher Education Eco-System

Globalization and internationalization, amongst other factors, have modified the role African universities play in society. Universities are now expected to be highly innovative and entrepreneurial; commercializing their research outcomes and spinning-out new knowledge-based enterprises, collaborating closely with the private sector, and offering advisory services, among a host of other key actions. The reduction in countries public funds, coupled with the lean government budgets for higher education, demand that higher education innovate and generates external funding to supplement its budget and facilitate meeting overall goals.

In response to this need, the ACE Impact project is strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship activities in 35 participating universities, while actively contributing to the creation of a pool of highly innovative universities, a crucial group needed to champion Africa’s economic transformation agenda. Since its inception in 2019, the project has supported the 53 ACE Impact centres to develop robust implementation plans in three core areas – 1) strengthening of technology transfer 2) development of institutional innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and 3) innovation-oriented cooperation of research infrastructures. The prioritization of these key areas is congruous with the Disbursement Linked Indicator 5.3 (DLI 5.3), included in the project to track the successes and results of participating centres in meeting pre-agreed milestones under the critical themes of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Under this DLI (DLI 5.3), the project, working alongside experts, supported the centres to develop plans and implement activities related to innovation and entrepreneurship. A thorough review process of centres implementation plans revealed they were at different levels in terms of their institutional innovation ecosystem. centres were advised and empowered to measure their technological institutional readiness for innovation and entrepreneurship. The centres have been equipped with the requisite tools and information to facilitate the engagement of authorities in their institutions and at the country levels to prioritize innovation.

The senior consultant and expert in entrepreneurship and innovation at the World Bank, Dr. Danica Ramljakan, provided very pertinent feedback to the centres following the review process, including the recommendation that the centres need to have appropriate Science Technology Innovation (STI) policies in place and ensure its effective implementation. Centres were charged by her to ensure that institutional capacity building for STI management and governance were in place, in addition to establishing efficient models for knowledge transfer to prioritize capacity building.

The ACE Impact project also charged the centres to define their research and development priorities, develop a roadmap for research infrastructure, and provide sustainable support for innovation development. Equally important to fostering innovation and entrepreneurial activities were the recommendations to attract the private sector to collaborate and invest in higher education Institutions’’ research and development (R&D), strengthen international collaborations, and inform the general public about the importance of the Centres’ work.

Centres have already begun to implement key interventions and have recorded significant improvements.

The Centre of Excellence for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER) at the Benue State University, Nigeria, for instance, has established a new Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and appointed a Technology Transfer Officer, as part of its intervention to strengthen the management of innovation and promote entrepreneurship/commercialisation. CEFTER has also instituted a startup grant scheme, to accelerate good business ideas and drive innovation forward. Already, 10 startups with commercialisable ideas have been selected to benefit from this scheme, following a competitive process involving 1,080 applicants. They are set to undergo a three (3) months incubation (booth camp) during which they will interact with experts in different fields for technical support, as well as undergo training on important subjects, including market research, product development, testing and validation, financial modelling, innovator business branding among others.

The ICT-Driven Knowledge Park (OAK-PARK) at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria developed a non-credit unit course ETR 700 (Engineering Entrepreneurship Process) and offered this course to its postgraduate students, dentistry students and faculty members of the Centre. The centre’s recently established Incubation Centre and ICT Garden were commissioned in December 2022 by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, who also gave a lecture on the topic ‘Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development’, as part of a lecture and commissioning event organised by the centre to bring its stakeholders together to engage with the topic of innovation.

Centres under the ACE Impact project have also been creating important platforms to engage key stakeholders from industry, government and the general public through the organisation of innovation weeks and research fares. In November, 2022, CEFTER hosted the West and Central Africa Post Harvest Congress and exhibition in Abuja, where most of its innovations were exhibited and in February 2023, it hosted its annual food week (innovation week) during which Masters and PhD students showcased different food processing and packaging technologies they had innovated. The Centre Leader, Dr Barnabas Ikyo, concludes that the project has positively impacted the University in various areas, citing an example that its company – CEFTER Foods Nigeria Ltd, established in line with the centre’s entrepreneurial activities, produces water, cassava-based cookies and bread in commercial quantities to serve both the university and external community members. He adds that as result of ongoing research by the Centre, the State Government released seventy (70) hectares of land to the university to build a College of agriculture, cultivate model farms and to carry out other innovative research activities.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) to support entrepreneurship and innovation, and commercialization of research have also been entered into by some centre’s of excellence and various strategic partners to facilitate implementation and engagement on various fronts.

Looking ahead, the Centres of Excellence are optimistic about pushing the frontiers of innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa’s higher education eco-system and deepening their engagement and impact in this topical focus area. From viable businesses, the take-off of spin off companies, the registration of patents, introduction of resourceful products and technologies, and strengthening of appropriate systems, partnerships and the entire innovation eco-system, the Centres current efforts are soon to reach maturity for Africa’s benefit.

April 10, 2023August 30, 2023

Students at STEE (Gambia) Champion Energy Efficiency Through Invention of the SmartHouse App

With the global climate crisis, energy conservation is crucial now more than ever to the promotion of energy efficiency. Given power challenges across the sub-Sahara African region, resources have been invested, leading to the advocacy and formulation of policies to adequately address this challenge. The Gambia is one of the many countries in West Africa struggling to keep from a total power breakdown. struggling to keep at bay total power breakdown. To combat this challenge, students at the Science, Technology and Engineering for Entrepreneurship (STEE) at the University of Science, Engineering and Technology (USET), The Gambia developed the SmartHouse app as a tool to propel energy conservation in the Gambia. USET hosts the Gambia’s first school of engineering, supported under the ACE Impact project.

Led by Maimuna Jallow, a third-year female electrical engineering student of USET, the SmartHouse app was designed to give home owners greater control of their energy usage, thereby enhancing the safety and security of homes in their absence. The app is designed in a way that appliances can be automatically controlled remotely using a networked device, with select appliances installed to be user-friendly. all one needs to do is to download the app for free.

The Smart House app consist of a simple technology that entails components of Civil and Electrical Electronic Engineering. The students made use of light dependant resistor (LDR) and Node MicroController Unit (NODEMCU) to control lamps, fans, and sockets in the house, as well as detecting darkness without the involvement of a person during black outs. The SmartHouse app was launched in November 2022 at the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop, which was opened by the President of the Gambia, in Banjul, among other student innovations including a smart bin, electric car and scooter, and solar water pumping system. The students announced that this was a pilot and with appropriate funding could be expanded and commercialised. Pamela Bass, a third-year student and member of the team noted that “If we are supported, we can do installation of houses with our app and customers can be paying us monthly or annually.”

The ACE Impact project is committed to highlighting the innovative and creative abilities of students, encouraging participation in the application of the acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities to solve problems pertaining to national and global development.

April 3, 2023

La Banque mondiale et ses Partenaires Evaluer l’Impact Régional des Projets du Centre d’Excellence

Le projet des Centres d’Excellence de l’Enseignement supérieur Africain (CEA) a le plaisir d’annoncer le lancement de l’Evaluation de l’Impact de la série de projets CEA. L’évaluation portera sur les progrès des projets de la série CEA – CEA 1, CEA 2 et CEA Impact. Cofinancée par la Banque mondiale et l’AFD, l’évaluation sera menée par des experts indépendants et débutera au Burkina Faso, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Ghana et au Nigéria, bien que des travaux analytiques clés soient appliqués pour mesurer l’impact dans tous les pays participants.

Les Centres d’Excellence pour l’Enseignement Supérieur en Afrique (CEA) sont une initiative de la Banque Mondiale en collaboration avec les gouvernements des pays partenaires pour soutenir les institutions d’enseignement supérieur spécialisées dans les Sciences, la Technologie, l’ingénierie et les Mathématiques (STIM), l’Agriculture, la Santé, l’Environnement et les Sciences Sociales/Sciences Appliquées et l’Education. Il s’agit du premier projet régional de la Banque Mondiale destiné à renforcer la capacité des universités Africaines à relever des défis communs spécifiques en matière de développement régional et à répondre à la demande de compétences nécessaires au développement de l’Afrique par le biais d’une formation et d’une recherche appliquée de haute qualité.

La première phase (CEA I) a été lancée en 2014 avec 22 Centres d’Excellence dans Neuf (9) pays d’Afrique Occidentale et Centrale – Bénin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambie, Ghana, Nigeria, Sénégal et Togo. La deuxième phase (CEA II) a été lancée en Afrique de l’Est et en Afrique australe avec 24 centres en Éthiopie, au Kenya, au Malawi, au Mozambique, au Rwanda, en Tanzanie, en Ouganda et en Zambie. Sur la base des succès initiaux, la Banque Mondiale et l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), en partenariat avec les gouvernements Africains, ont lancé le projet CEA Impact en 2019 afin de renforcer la formation post-universitaire et la recherche appliquée dans les domaines existants ainsi que de soutenir de nouveaux domaines qui sont essentiels pour la croissance économique de l’Afrique. Dans le cadre de CEA Impact, il existe 53 CEA spécialisés dans les grands domaines thématiques des STIM, de l’agriculture, de la santé, de l’environnement et des sciences sociales/appliquées et de l’éducation.

L’évaluation de l’Impact fournira par conséquent une voie définie pour la mise en œuvre ultérieure du modèle CEA et guidera la conception de futurs projets nationaux et régionaux dans le domaine de l’enseignement supérieur. Plus précisément, l’évaluation d’impact devrait :

– Identifier et mettre en évidence les principales leçons tirées à ce stade des projets CEA, en discutant de la conception et de la mise en œuvre des projets concernant la qualité, la pertinence, l’accès, la gouvernance et le financement, et la manière dont ils sont liés à la formation des étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur et aux résultats de la recherche;

– Évaluer l’impact au niveau sectoriel (STIM, Santé, Agriculture et Education), au niveau du système national/institutionnel de l’enseignement supérieur et au sein des communautés locales/régionales – en se focalisant sur les quatre pays ciblés ; et

– Élaborer des recommandations politiques globales et spécifiques à chaque pays sur la base des résultats, en se focalisant sur les secteurs de l’enseignement supérieur aux niveaux institutionnel et national.

Pour commencer le processus d’évaluation, des entretiens seront programmés dans des centres situés dans les pays pilotes. Les résultats préliminaires seront présentés lors de l’atelier régional semestriel de CEA Impact qui se déroulera en mai 2023. En outre, la première version des livrables sera partagée en juin pour un examen plus approfondi et des commentaires de la part des principales parties concernées.

April 3, 2023

World Bank and its Partners to Assess the Regional Impact of the Centre of Excellence Projects

The Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE) project is pleased to announce the launch of the Impact Evaluation for the ACE series of projects. The evaluation will assess the progress of the ACE series of projects- ACE 1, ACE 2, and ACE Impact. Co-funded by the World Bank and the AFD, the evaluation will be conducted by independent experts and commenced in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, although key analytical work will be applied to measure the impact in all participating countries.

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE) is a World Bank initiative in collaboration with governments of participating countries to support higher education institutions specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture, Health, Environment and Social Science/Applied Science and Education. It is the first World Bank regional project building the capacities of African universities to address specific common regional development challenges and meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development through high-quality training and applied research.

The first phase (ACE I) was launched in 2014 with 22 Centers of Excellence in Nine (9) West and Central African countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo. The second phase (ACE II) was launched in East and Southern Africa with 24 centers across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Based on the initial successes, the World Bank, and the French Development Agency (AFD) in collaboration with the African governments, launched the ACE Impact Project in 2019 to further strengthen post-graduate training and applied research in existing fields and support new fields that are essential for Africa’s economic growth. Under ACE Impact, there are 53 ACEs specializing in the broad thematic areas of STEM, agriculture, health, environment, and social/applied science and education.

The Impact evaluation will therefore provide a defined pathway toward subsequent implementation of the ACE model and further guide the design of future national and regional higher education projects. More specifically, the impact evaluation would:

Identify and highlight key lessons to-date from the ACE projects, discussing project design and implementation concerning quality, relevance, access, governance, and financing and how these relate to training of higher education students and research outputs.
Assess the impact so far at the sectoral level (STEM, Health, Agriculture, and Education fields), higher education national/institutional system level, and within local/regional communities -focusing on the four target countries; and
Develop overall and country-specific policy recommendations culminating from the findings, focusing on the higher education sectors at the institutional and national levels.

To commence the assessment process, interviews will be scheduled in centres hosted in the pilot countries. The preliminary findings will be presented at the ACE Impact bi-annual regional workshop to be held in May 2023. In addition, the first draft of deliverables will be shared in June for further review and feedback by key stakeholders.

March 1, 2023March 14, 2023

Female Students Equipped with Strategies and Skills to Succeed at the Bargaining Table

Gender disparity has contributed to systematic differences in job opportunities and salaries for men and women. Economic development statistics show that men often earn more than women for the same work. Further studies have confirmed that some reasons women earn less are because they often find it difficult to negotiate remuneration due to the fear of damaging a relationship and because they have learned that society can react negatively towards women being assertive. However, this culture of unspoken assumptions tends to perpetuate the inequalities in gender-related issues even though women tend to achieve better results when negotiating on behalf of a group as this is consistent with gender norms of being caring and protective. The growing need for women to take the lead in negotiation is crucial to empowering women to bridge the gender gap.

In view of this, key partners of the Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact), the World Bank and the Association of African Universities, organised a training workshop to provide a blueprint for effective and result-oriented negotiation. The Negotiation Workshop was organized in two sessions: the French Session on October 24 and October 31, and the English Session on October 25 and November 1. The training targeted female final-year masters and PhD students at the centers of excellence. Participants were selected through a widely publicized Call for Applications.

The objectives of the workshop were to: Increase participants’ awareness of their negotiation responsibilities; build competencies for negotiation analysis; enhance negotiation skills and repertoire; provide tools for better negotiation planning; improve working relationships internally and externally; build efficient processes and promote more active communication; teach peaceful conflict resolution strategies and enhance negotiation related knowledge and competencies.

Sixty students from the 53 centers of excellence participated in the training. For increased interaction and engagement, role play was employed. Participants took up roles as negotiators and discussed their approaches and results with the facilitators. Two seasoned negotiators were engaged to facilitate the sessions – Michele Pekar, an Associate Professor at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and also a founding partner of Co-Dev Inc. (a negotiation and conflict resolution consulting firm) and Expert Facilitator for the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; and Alain Lempereur, a Professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and Affiliate Faculty, Executive Committee Member and Global Instructor for the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation (PON). The content of the workshop varied per session. The first session centred on Negotiation Preparation which comprises the 3 pillars of negotiation, reporting of results, and how to prepare for negotiations based on the 3 pillars, while the second session focused on the Negotiation Process including the use of the negotiation matrix, reporting results, and managing the process.

Results of the post-workshop evaluation showed that 90% of the participants felt highly confident in applying the knowledge acquired and all participants confirmed that their expectations for the training had been sufficiently met and that the takeaways would be useful beyond their career pathways. Some participants reported that the workshop was an eye-opener in terms of assessing their value. As one participant noted, “this workshop led to an increase in my self-worth. Other observations included “I used to undervalue myself but I feel more confident now”; “I have not been taught or personally learned how to really go about negotiation professionally. This was the first of its kind, and I learnt a lot.”

The Negotiation Workshop is one of a series of initiatives under the ACE Impact Project to encourage gender inclusivity in higher education and other priority areas. Platforms have been provided through webinars and face-to-face interactions with the various centres, including, Experience Sharing Talk on Women’s Month (March 2021); Discussions on policies and initiatives undertaken (Benin workshop, June 2021); Negotiation workshop (November 2022); and an Alumni/Centre Leader Panel on “Navigating Barriers as a Woman: (November 2022). Other scheduled activities comprise ‘the women talk series capacity-building sessions in topical areas such as leadership; the launch of a mentorship program; and the organisation of webinars, among others.

January 16, 2023

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence: A Pathway towards Sustainable Development – High-Level Meetings with Partners

In collaboration with the French Development Agency, AFD (co-financier of ACE-Impact), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, IRD (facilitating ACEs’ regional networks), and the Association of African Universities, AAU (ACE-Impact Regional Facilitation Unit), the World Bank is organizing a two-day high-level event under the theme: “The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence: A Pathway towards Sustainable Development”. The event took place at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, on October 17 and 18, 2022, and brought together the ACEs and the most influential decision makers in the development space to discuss the centers’ innovations and best practices at both national and regional levels, as well as their challenges and opportunities. Following the high-level event, the ACEs travelled on October 20 and 21, 2022 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University for peer-learning and partnership opportunities.

The event was co-funded by the World Bank, the AFD and the World Bank China Partnership Facility (CWPF).

Women urged to invest in their careers, make sacrifices today to reap great benefits tomorrow

Women in Africa’s higher education sector, especially those in the Africa Centers of Excellence for Development Impact, have been encouraged to make the necessary investments and sacrifices to acquire the requisite technical skills and knowledge to advance their careers and to enjoy the benefits that come from such an investment in later years.

Several initiatives have been implemented by the ACE Impact project to promote gender inclusiveness and specifically to ensure that women are empowered through the project. Aside from having a core indicator that promotes the recruitment of female students to the centres, the project has instituted a well-coordinated gender initiative which regularly rolls out capacity-building trainings among others and engages the centres on the issue of women empowerment.

Addressing participants at the 8th ACE Impact regional workshop in The Gambia in a plenary session on career perspectives for women, Prof. Hadiza Galadanci, the Center Leader for the Africa Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP), Nigeria, called on women to view education as an ongoing activity, and to be deliberate about investing their time, resources, and all it takes to gain credibility and recognition as hardworking professionals.

She stressed that the sacrifices made in the early years of one’s career – including investing efforts in gaining visibility, participating in important workshops, seminars, and conferences, building a rich network, and looking out for opportunities to forge partnerships and collaborations, as well as engaging in publishing were among the key factors shaping careers and propelling academics to the top, thus it was necessary, for females to invest in such engagements.

Using herself as a shining example, Prof. Galadanci recounted how her hard work and track record over the years, coupled with the sacrifices she made during the early years of her career, and key attributes such as teamwork, effective time management and being a life-long learner had paid off in the later years of her career. Currently, she provides consultancy services and leads ground-breaking research, as well as serve on various boards and panels, among several other high-profile engagements by both local and international organisations. She attributes all these to the efforts she made earlier towards building a rich career profile.

Prof. Hadiza Galadaci emphasised, that there’s no glass ceiling limiting women, and that women can equally compete with their male colleagues for positions and be selected, if they prove themselves to be hardworking, knowledgeable, and skilled in their areas of expertise. She called on women to work twice as hard as their male colleagues, ensuring a good career-family life balance, in the process.

The plenary session on career perspectives for women, was hosted on Wednesday November 16, 2022, and was chaired by Dr Mariame Sadio Diallo, the Deputy Center Leader for the Africa Center of Excellence for Prevention and Control of Transmissible Diseases (ACE PCMT), Guinea.

Aside from the keynote speaker, the session featured three panelists, Dr. Mane Seck, MITIC, Senegal, Dr. Grace Sename Peter, ACEGID Nigeria and Dr. Jainaba Sey Sawo (Emerging Center of Excellence on Science, Engineering & Technology for Entrepreneurship)), who are all alumni of the African Centres of Excellence. The objective of the session was to provide an interactive discussion session to help participants reflect on the positive experiences of ACE centers’ female alumni not only for their own sake but also to highlight their contributions to their countries’ economies.

Technical competencies must be accompanied by non-technical competencies for one to excel

The three panelists at this session highlighted the importance of both technical and soft skills in their career trajectories. Dr. Mane Seck, an awardee and winner of the best oral presentation at the 2nd African Conference on Renewable Energy, a conference which was convened in Senegal in 2022 narrated how soft skills such as time management, teamwork and communication had been critical and contributed to the feat that she achieved. The key task for winning the award was for contestants to present a summary of their entire research/thesis in three minutes, and thus for her, content is key, but equally important are the soft skills such as being a great communicator. Dr. Seck also highlighted the important skill of being able to engage partners and availing oneself for participation in international meetings, to gain international exposure.

For Dr. Jainaba Sawo, intimated that having the ability to balance career and family, as well as being committed, determined and hardworking were all important. Her strong technical and soft skills have seen her moving through the ranks to occupy key leadership positions including serving as the head of department for the Department of Nursing and Reproductive Health in her institution (University of The Gambia).

Dr. Grace Senam highlighted the need for women to continue to seek knowledge, collaborate with other professionals and persevere in seeking to excel. Her advice to the next generation of African women in STEM and indeed other fields, was for them to be focused on making an impact in their fields, being problem solvers, having curious minds and to attach themselves to great mentors who would be good support systems to them as they wade through challenges and climb up the academic ladder. Another advice that featured prominently in her submission was for women to desist from competing with others, but rather with themselves, and seek to be better versions of themselves. She called on women not to allow other factors, especially social factors to stymie their career goals, urging them to go after their dreams.

Overcoming the challenges encountered by women

The panelists further deliberated on the challenges faced by women in their pursuit of their career goals, and how to overcome them, suppressing their potential of dimming women’s prospects for career advancement.

Among these, were the lack of confidence, poor IT skills, poor bio-statistics skills, and the social pressure exerted on young women to focus on their gender roles and start a family, just to mention a few.

The panelists encouraged women in academia not to be afraid of taking up new challenges and responsibilities, and to be confident that they could excel. They were also encouraged to seek the requisite knowledge and to ensure that they acquire the needed skills, leveraging on available opportunities to participate in projects and acquire skills in the process, as well as to take advantage of the wider opportunities presented by a boom in online learning. Making it easy to conveniently acquire skills anytime. Young girls were especially encouraged not to succumb to the social pressures that they faced, and to be deliberate about getting the right life partner who would understand and support their career goals, if they so wish to start a family life. The key role mentors must play in helping women and girls overcome all these challenges was again highlighted.

General recent progress recorded by various countries, in banning early marriages and putting in place measures to control gender-based violence, as well as having women role models in key positions to look up to, were all highlighted as good conditions which should give young women some hope for a brighter future.

Call on Centres to show leadership in promoting women empowerment

Dr. Ekua Bentil, Senior Education Specialist and ACE Task Team Leader at the World Bank intimated that it takes a lot of effort and commitment from all parties, including men, to ensure that women succeed, and called on the centres of excellence to work hard to make a difference at the centre levels.

She said that the ACE Impact, as a project of excellence has put in place strategic measures to empower women and that the ACE story, in terms of how it supports women at the centres – both centre team members and students – to overcome various barriers, must be completely different from what exists in the general society and must strive to continue to impact society as well.

Way Forward – ACE Impact Project’s intervention to inspire women to be leaders

Ms. Djénéba Gory, a consultant and ACE Impact core team member at the World Bank, reported that so far, the ACE impact has hosted several events focused on women and these include a webinar held in March 2022 (Women’s Month) themed Inspiring Women as Leaders of African Higher Education; a Gender Policies in Action Talk at the 7th ACE Impact Regional Workshop in June 2022; a virtual Negotiation Workshop (October-November 2022) and the Careers Perspective for Women Talk at the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop (November, 2022).

As part of the next steps, the project aims to organise a webinar on Sexual Harassment (January/February 2022), a Leadership Workshop (March/April 2023) and a Careers in STEM Series (May/June) among others.

Ms. Gory called on Centres to support the various ongoing initiatives, by taking ownership and being agile in terms of leveraging the initiatives to suit their institutional needs.

December 18, 2022

President of the Republic of The Gambia joins stakeholders to celebrate project successes at the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop

The Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in the Gambia livened up on the 15th of November 2022 as the Gambia Police Band skillfully played the Gambian National Anthem to kickstart the 8th Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) Regional Workshop.

The opening ceremony was attended by prominent dignitaries including His Excellency, The Gambia President, Adama Barrow (who formally opened the regional workshop), Hon. Professor Pierre Gomez, the Gambia Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology; Hon. Professor Balde Moussa, Minister of Higher Education & Research of the Republic of Senegal; Hon. Karm Mamoudon, Minister of Higher Education and Research, Niger; Hon. Adama Diawara Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Cote d’Ivoire; Hon. Badara Alieu Joof, Vice President of The Gambia; the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole; Mrs. Feyi Boroffice, the World Bank Resident Representative for The Gambia; Dr. Laurent Cortese, Deputy Director, French Development Agency (AFD) and several other high-ranking officials from the Republic of The Gambia.

Dr. Yusupha Touray, the Permanent Secretary of The Gambia’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology chaired the proceedings of the opening ceremony and welcomed the over 450 delegates to The Gambia – which is also nicknamed the ‘smiling coast’ because the country cuts through the middle of Senegal, with its position appearing like that of a smile on the map of the continent. The other distinguished delegates at this meeting included the Project’s Steering Committee Members, Focal Point Officers, Vice Chancellors, Center Leaders, Deputy Center Leaders, Procurement Officers, MEL Officers, Finance Officers, Environmental and Safeguard Officers, Subject Matter Experts, World Bank Officials, Students, AAU Officials, AFD Officials, and other invited guests.

In his welcome remarks, Honourable Professor Pierre Gomez, the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology for The Gambia, encouraged participants to take advantage of the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop and “establish the right partnerships and networks to help develop Africa’s Higher Education Institutions to be able to compete in the research and innovation global markets”. He acknowledged that The Gambia had benefited tremendously from being part of the Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence Project – particularly in the areas of human capital development and institutional strengthening. He also said that he was inspired by the diversity of experts from academia and industry who are collaborating under the project to address developmental challenges through education and research.

Workshop’s Focus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Message by the AAU

Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole, the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), reminded the gathering that the theme for the 8th regional workshop – Innovation and Entrepreneurship – was aptly chosen because of the need to reorient Africa’s education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, innovation, and creativity required to promote sustainable development at the national, sub-regional and continental levels. He reminded the participants that “modern and prosperous economies were spurred by innovation, entrepreneurship and technology” and that “innovation and entrepreneurship remain pressing priorities to maximize the potential of Africa’s most precious resource, its human capital”.

Professor Oyewole extended special gratitude to His Excellency Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, Hon. Professor Pierre Gomez, the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and the Government of the Republic of The Gambia for hosting the 8th Regional Workshop and Project Steering Committee meeting. He also acknowledged the Republic of The Gambia for its support towards the development of African higher education through the ACE Impact project.

Commitment by the World Bank to Continue Prioritising Human Capital Development

Mrs. Feyi Boroffice, the World Bank Resident Representative for The Gambia pledged that the World Bank stood ready to support African governments and would continue to prioritize human capital development in Africa. She applauded the ACE Impact Centers for contributing towards improving maternal and child health in rural communities; leading genomic sequencing and diagnostics of infectious diseases such as Ebola and covid-19; developing high-yield, and climate and disease resistant crops; promoting valorization of waste and identifying innovative techniques to ensure the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities in Africa.

Again, Mrs. Boroffice thanked the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement – AFD), for co-financing the flagship ACE-Impact Project and paid a glowing tribute to the Association of African Universities’ team, led by Professor Olusola Oyewole and Dr. Sylvia Mkandawire (the ACE Impact Senior Project Manager) for working tirelessly in planning and co-hosting the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop. She stated that the ACE Impact Project was “a great model for leveraging regional approaches promoting a quality, innovative, sustainable, and collaborative higher education sector in Africa, and for complementing national efforts”.

Key initiatives being implemented to Transform The Gambia’s Higher Education Sector

His Excellency Adama Barrow, the President of The Gambia, highlighted the various concerted efforts that The Gambia was investing in transforming its higher education system through reforms to put the youth at the forefront of national development. He also shared that The Gambia was working towards establishing a fully-fledged Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Engineering for Entrepreneurship. “The recently established University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) is going to be important for developing adequate human capital that is equipped with entrepreneurial mindsets to match Gambia’s development strides and aspirations” said President Barrow.

The President also intimated that his government, through the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, was setting up regional skills centres and the relevant curriculum for technical education and training. He added, that besides strengthening the existing tertiary institutions, his government was committed to expanding opportunities in the Applied Sciences at the new University of Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology.

As a proud member state of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the President expressed the country’s delight in hosting, partnering, and participating in the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop. He agreed that it was important to build the capacities of African Universities to enable them bridge the critical human resource capacity gaps and contribute towards addressing the continent’s development challenges. The President emphasized that the “academics, researchers, and policymakers, could pave the way for a better Africa if higher education was regarded as an investment”.

He concluded by thanking the World Bank, the Association of African Universities, the French Development Agency, and the Project Steering Committee of the ACE Impact Project for supporting The Gambia in creating a “new national development path within its education sector”.

The ACE Impact Project Steering Committee Meeting

The opening ceremony of the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop was preceded by a Project Steering Committee Meeting on the 14th of November 2022 where the African Ministers of Higher Education or their representatives were in attendance to receive reports on the status of the project. In her ACE Impact Progress and Update report to the PSC Meeting, Dr. Sylvia Mkandawire discussed key results of the project in line with the project development objectives. Among the key achievements, it was highlighted that US$6.196.916 external revenue had been mobilized by the ACE Impact Centers; 5,341 regional students had been admitted by the Centers; 5,460 females make up 51% of the total number of students enrolled and 152 academic programmes had been nationally accredited. In the area of partnerships, it was reported that the ACE Impact Project was in a partnership with IBM and are supporting Student Internships at IBM’s research laboratories in Kenya and South Africa, as well as providing advanced digital training for faculty. The project was also said to engage Elsevier in building the Centers’ capacities in research, publications, and scientific communication. Another ongoing partnership with AFD is helping to support four (4) thematic networks of ACE Centers, with 6 million Euros being invested in the networks. The PASET (partnership for skills in applied science, engineering, and technology) collaboration, which was also highlighted, involves 200 students who are hosted in ACE Impact accredited programs.

Call to Action to Promote Sustainability of the ACE Impact Project

Dr. Mkandawire concluded her report with a call to action for African governments to urgently support the project in the areas of procurement, investments in state-of-the-art infrastructure and sustaining the investments already made. She also reported on the high-level meeting hosted for the ACE Impact Centers and key partners at the World Bank Offices in Washington DC in October 2022. She indicated that the meeting was successful in disseminating the impact of the ACEs and their contributions towards addressing key regional development challenges and global crises in public health, climate change, energy, agriculture, and food.

December 18, 2022

Prioritize Attracting Private Sector Investments to Boost Research & Development Outputs – African Scientists and Innovators have been told

Prioritize Attracting Private Sector Investments to Boost Research and Development Outputs – African Scientists and Innovators have been told

African researchers, scientists and innovators have been counselled to channel their focus on mobilising private sector investment and financing rather than depending solely on the already scare public resources, to improve the continent’s expenditure on Research and Development and increase its R&D output.

Generally, low spending on scientific research and development is pervasive in Africa, with countries’ expenditure on R&D being pegged at less than 1% of their Gross Domestic Products, whereas the global average stands at 1.7%. Africa continues to lag in its research outputs, and this is partly attributable to its inability to invest in Research and Development. To change the narrative, African leaders in 2006 committed to allocating at least one percent of their respective countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into Research and Development by 2010. Sadly, a decade has gone by, yet the continent has still not realized this goal.

Speaking at the 8^th Regional workshop of the Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) held in The Gambia, Dr. Yaw Bediako, CEO of Yemaachi Biotech in Ghana and a faculty member at the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), said that it was time for a change to be affected in the historical pattern of having most of Africa’s Research and Development (R&D) investments coming from the public sector. This according to him was in sharp contrast with what pertains in more developed countries, where investments for R&D were largely from the private sector.

Catalysing private finance as a key strategy to increasing the overall investment in R&D is therefore a sure solution to addressing the funding challenge faced by researchers and innovators. Highlighting the example of the United States of America (USA), Dr. Bediako told participants at the workshop that “The USA invests 2-3% of its GDP in Research and Development, however, 72% of the money comes from the private sector. In essence, the U.S government’s contribution to R&D is less than 1% of their GDP”.

African leaders, higher education stakeholders and innovators were urged to take a critical look at the countries that have succeeded in investing more than 1% of their GDP in Research and Development and analyze the strategies adopted by those countries to serve as a guide.

Dr. Bediako emphatically stated that while the solution to the continent’s R&D investments would come from the private sector, African Governments need to create a conducive environment that allows businesses to succeed, for instance, introducing tax incentives where its currently non-existent, to enable the private sector access initial start-up funding or to scale-up their existing businesses.

Highlighting the relevance of Research and Development to the growth of a Nation, Dr. Danica Ramljak, Senior Consultant, at the World Bank indicated that “There is no good economic development or sustainable development without innovation, entrepreneurship, research, and development”

She also urged all ACE Impact Centers of Excellence to coordinate with their respective universities’ leadership so they play their roles as part of the ecosystem by providing leadership, vision, policies, and research infrastructure, entrepreneurial curriculum to boost R&D outputs. She stressed that centers must never work in silos and encouraged them to learn from each other and leverage International and Industrial partnerships in order to succeed.

Strengthening Engagement with the Private Sector is Important

Dr. Jimmy Nsenga, a lead software engineer, and a scientist, who was a panelist at the session, underscored the need for the Centres of Excellence to be deliberate about their engagements with the private sector. He said that to attract private sector investments, centers must make a conscious effort to be visible to the private sector as business partners and to change the misguided view of Higher Education Institutions being seen as only existing for their core roles of teaching and learning.

He called on the Centres of Excellence to deepen their engagements with the private sector, because private sector institutions were unaware of the existence of the ACEs. Dr. Nsenga also urged the ACEs to leverage their expertise for the benefit of the private sector, by for instance, providing a clear roadmap for the business sector based on research. According to him, most entrepreneurs in Africa lack roadmaps for their businesses and therefore supporting them in this area could improve their success rates, thus their motivation to equally invest in research.

Consideration of Entrepreneurship as a Pathway to Attracting Funding for R& D

It was highlighted, that despite Africa’s low investment in Research and Development, companies and start-ups on the continent have started attracting private investments although the numbers are still very low compared to the global figures. One of such start-ups on the continent is Yemaachi Biotech, an oncology drug target discovery company founded in 2021 by Dr. Yaw Bediako and his team.

Dr. Bediako, a scientist, innovator, and entrepreneur, took the opportunity to urge the Center Leaders and Scientists to consider venturing into entrepreneurship, as a route to attracting funding for research to solve the continent’s and more generally, global challenges.

He indicated that entrepreneurship presented an important pathway to sustainability and that while the ACEs were still exploring avenues to become sustainable beyond the World Bank’s funding, part of the solution would be for them to establish local industries.

The African higher education sector was called upon to do all it can (including attracting funding from the private sector) to ensure it retains its great scientists and innovators and not continue to lose them through brain drain, due to lack of funding to support their exploits.

The 8^th ACE Impact Regional Workshop was held from the 14^th – the 18^th of November 2022 in the Republic of The Gambia. Present at the workshop were His Excellency Adama Barrow, the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Hon. Alieu Joof, Vice President of The Gambia, Ministers of Higher Education from the region and other Government Representatives from Africa, Higher Education, and other project stakeholders and Students.