African countries have collectively exported intellectual capital to the world, especially to countries in the global north. While un-skilled and semi-skilled labour moves within the continent, western nations like the UK, France, Australia, Canada, and the US are frequent destinations for highly skilled, highly educated human capital from Africa. This human capital flight, traditionally referred to as brain drain, has had a devastating effect on the African continent, while receiving nations have benefitted from innovations, patents and profits by African scholars, experts, and intellectuals. In today’s knowledge-based and globalised economy, how can African countries benefit from their human talent scattered across the diaspora?
Knowledge-based economies are agile, well educated, and can rely on their citizens to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and dynamism in that society’s economy. In the contemporary world, intellectual capital, more than savings or investments, is key to achieving the developmental goals of nations. Development and modernisation through the application of human knowledge and creativity are steadily overtaking the extraction and processing of natural resources as drivers of wealth creation in Africa. Zimbabwe is experiencing a rebirth of agriculture (more than 40 per cent of GDP), owing to modern approaches to knowledge exchange, learning and innovation in the sector. The Smart Africa Continental AgriTech Blueprint which was developed by Zimbabwe, foregrounds agricultural innovation and creativity as the backbone of success in agricultural output. The Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Eastern Africa is another example of a centre of excellence where agricultural knowledge and innovation systems have made Kenya’s agricultural sector the main contributor to the economy.
In our globalised society, humans and systems can operate at an international scale under the facilitation of enabling technology. After centuries of technological progress, our world has become connected, home and office devices are now wired intelligently, and there are phenomenal advances in international cooperation. It no longer matters where the individual is based, they can contribute to any economy in the world.
Source link : https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2024/04/11/embracing-brain-circulation-is-a-huge-opportunity-for-africas-development/
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Publish date : 2024-04-11 07:00:00
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