Kenya ranks 2nd in the Sub-Saharan Africa in innovation

Kenya has been ranked as the second leading innovation hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and 6th globally in access to credit and microfinance loans by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

In its latest Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 report, the organisation ranked Mauritius  third after  South Africa and Kenya.

“Kenya has a track record for recording high levels of innovation, outperforming on levels of innovation relative to GDP for the ninth consecutive year, an excellent record at per with other lower-middle-income countries like India, the Republic of Moldova, and Vietnam,” reads the report.

The report attributes Kenya’s innovative strength to access to credit and microfinance gross loans. Every year, the Global Innovation Index ranks the innovation performance of nearly
130 economies around the world.

The report continues, “As in previous years, Africa shines in terms of innovation relative to level of development. Out of the 18 innovation achievers identified in the GII 2019, six (the most from any one region) are from the Sub-Saharan African region. Importantly, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi, and Madagascar stand out for being innovation achievers at least three times in the previous eight years.”

Globally, Switzerland continues to be the leading innovation hub in 2019 followed by Sweden and U.S. respectively. South Africa was ranked 63rd, Kenya at 77, and Mauritius at number 82 globally.

The report also notes that on a regional level, continuous innovation performance
improvements are primarily happening in Asia.