Mozambique stands out, leaps nine places in Global Innovation Index 2016

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Mozambique stands out, leaps nine places in Global Innovation Index 2016

10:39 CAT | 22 Sep 2016

The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranked Mozambique 84 out of 128 countries in terms of progress in innovation, 9 points up from last year’s result when the country was ranked 95 out of 144 countries. According to the 2016 report, Mozambique received 29.8 points in creativity and innovation globally, leading up to a number of African countries, such as Mauritius (53), South Africa (54), Tunisia (77), Kenya (80), Rwanda (83), Botswana (90), Namibia (93), Malawi (98), Uganda (99), Ghana (102), Tanzania (105), Senegal (106), Egypt (107), Cote d’Ivoire (108), Ethiopia (110), Madagascar (111) , Mali (112), Algeria (113), Nigeria (114), Cameroon ( 118), Benin (121), Burkina Faso (122), Burundi (123), Niger (124), Zambia ( 125), Togo (126) and Guinea (127).

Switzerland topped the ranking by obtaining 66.3 points in creativity and innovation in 2016. Sweden came second, by obtaining 63.6 points, followed by the United Kingdom with 61.9 points, the United States with 61.9 points, and Finland finished fifth globally with 61.4 points.

According to the report, the US ranked first in North America, while Chile ranked first in South America and 44th globally, followed by Costa Rica which ranked 45th globally.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mauritius takes the top spot among all economies in the region (53rd), followed by South Africa (54th), Kenya (80th), Rwanda (83rd), Mozambique (84th), Botswana (90th), Namibia (93rd), and Malawi (98th).

Since 2012, Sub-Saharan Africa has counted more countries than any other region among the group of “innovation achievers” – countries that perform better than their level of development would predict. This year, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda stand out. Better rankings on the indicators for institutions, business sophistication, and knowledge and technology output have allowed the region to catch up to Central and Southern Asia, and to overtake Northern Africa and Western Asia.

Average regional performance shows strengths in the ease of starting a business, ICTs, business-model creation, and relative expenditure on education, with weaknesses in firms conducting global R&D, high-tech exports, the quality of local universities and number of scientific publications. In general, further efforts are required in Human capital, Research and Infrastructure.

As economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is slowing, the GII 2016 shows that Sub-Saharan Africa must preserve its current innovation momentum, while continuing to diversify economies away from oil production and commodity revenues.

The rankings for the remaining countries in the region were: Uganda (99), Ghana (102), Tanzania (105), Senegal (106), Cote d’Ivoire (108), Ethiopia (110), Madagascar (111) , Mali (112), Nigeria (114), Cameroon ( 118), Benin (121), Burkina Faso (122), Burundi (123), Niger (124), Zambia ( 125), Togo (126) and Guinea (127).

The report also showed that Israel was graded first in terms of creativity and innovation in West Asia, ranking 20th globally, followed by Cyprus which ranked 31st globally, and the UAE came in 41st place globally. India was ranked as a leader of creativity and innovation in central and south Asia, placing 66th globally. Kazakhstan ranked 75th, and Iran 78th globally. Globally, China was ranked 25th and Japan 16th.

GII 2016 Theme: “Winning with Global Innovation”

The GII theme this year is “Winning with Global Innovation.” The report explores the rising share of innovation carried out via globalized innovation networks, finding that gains from global innovation can be shared more widely as cross-border flows of knowledge and talent are on the rise. The report also concludes that there is ample scope to expand global corporate and public R&D cooperation to foster future economic growth.

Bruno Lanvin, INSEAD Executive Director for Global Indices, and co-author of the report, underlines: “Some may see globalization as a trend in search of its ‘second breath.’ Yet, the relative contraction of international trade and investment flows does give even more strategic importance to the two sides of global innovation: on one hand, more emerging countries are becoming successful innovators, and on the other hand, an increasing share of innovation benefits stem from cross-border co-operation.”

At the national level, the report says that innovation policies should more explicitly favor international collaboration and the diffusion of knowledge across borders. New international governance structures should also aim to increase technology diffusion to and among developing countries.

Johan Aurik, Managing Partner and Chairman of GII Knowledge Partner A.T. Kearney, the global consultancy, says: “Digital has become a primary driver of strategy development and innovation for business in almost all sectors; I am convinced we are only at the beginning. Notably for established organizations, the challenge lies in finding ways to successfully innovate by using and transforming existing resources and business practices. Realizing success in today’s new landscape requires creative, forward-thinking strategies that embrace digital and address the need to change the fundamental ways of working in the company.”

About the Global Innovation Index

The Global Innovation Index 2016 (GII), in its 9th edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, a specialized agency of the United Nations).

Published annually since 2007, the GII is now a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. Policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders use the GII to evaluate progress on a continual basis. This year’s study benefits from the experience of its Knowledge Partners, A.T. Kearney and IMP³rove – European Innovation Management Academy, the Confederation of Indian Industry and du, as well as of an Advisory Board of international experts.

The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results. Recognizing the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity, and the need for a broad horizontal vision of innovation applicable to developed and emerging economies, the GII includes indicators that go beyond the traditional measures of innovation such as the level of research and development.

To support the global innovation debate, to guide polices and to highlight good practices, metrics are required to assess innovation and related policy performance. The GII creates an environment in which innovation factors are under continual evaluation, including the following features:

• 128 country profiles, including data, ranks and strengths and weaknesses on 82 indicators

• 82 data tables for indicators from over 30 international public and private sources, of which 58 are hard data, 19 composite indicators, and 5 survey questions

• A transparent and replicable computation methodology including 90% confidence interval for each index ranking (GII, output and input sub-indices) and an analysis of factors affecting year-on-year changes in rankings

The GII 2016 is calculated as the average of two sub-indices. The Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities grouped in five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

The index is submitted to an independent statistical audit by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. To download the full report visit: www.globalinnovationindex.org.

Source: globalinnovationindex.org