…Derrydean Dadzie charges delegates at ARICS 2025.

Chief Executive Officer of  game-changing product development house, software engineering enclave, research centre, and innovation service hub, Heritors Labs Limited, Derrydean Dadzie, has made a rallying call on African nations to prioritise the commercialisation of innovation and research outcomes to foster sustained prosperity and to enhance the global competitiveness of the continent.

Speaking at the second edition of the Africa Research and Innovation Commercialisation Summit (ARICS 2025) held at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra, he stated that Africa can no longer be a spectator in the global innovation race.

We must move from intention to execution, from research papers to robust products, from ideas to industries, and from dependency to dominance.  Our future is not something to wait for; it is something to build on, he charged. 

Now in its second year, ARICS has become a platform for stimulating conversations and activating real action towards the creation of innovation economies that will drive Africa’s prosperity and global value.

This year’s edition was held on the theme: “From labs to markets; scaling industry uptake of innovation and research outcomes”, and convened the continent’s eminent innovators, researchers, business community and policymakers.

According to Mr. Dadzie, the theme reflected the aspirations of a generation; a demand that will break the silence between research and industry and convert intellectual capital into an industrial market.

We must prioritise innovation and commercialisation and transform our innovation transfer processes. This will enable scientists, innovators, and researchers to share, trade, mobilise innovation resources across borders with ease and transparency, he added.

Mr. Dadzie further indicated the commitment of Heritors Labs, and its funder RISA Fund as well as strategic partners to championing the agenda of moving research and innovations from labs to markets by building collaborative bridges with key ecosystem players. 

ARICS is a flagship gathering of researchers, innovators, the business community and policymakers to discuss practical solutions and roadmaps that will instigate the commercialisation of research and innovations for the broader economic gains.

The two-day summit featured interactive and insightful presentations from seasoned ecosystem experts, engaging panel sessions on accelerating Africa’s industrial transformation; the harmonisation of research and innovation policies; as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning opportunities for Africa.

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Speaking at the summit, the CEO of the KenyaNational Innovation Agency, Dr Tonny Omwansa, emphasised the urgent need to bridge the gap between research and commercialisation, highlighting that innovation must be more than just ideas on paper.

“We could be talking a lot about innovations that should come out of research, but what does it practically take to move these things to commercialisation? Rubber meets the road, and the answer is the people.” he stated, underscoring the need for talent, leadership, and an ecosystem that supports innovation.

He further stressed the importance of institutional strength in driving Kenya’s innovation agenda. “If we can’t measure our capacity to commercialise, then we cannot improve our systems of commercialisation. Until we build strong cultures and systems in our institutions, we are not going nowhere.” According to him, building institutions that foster entrepreneurship and innovation is critical to ensuring that research translates into real-world impact.

On the role of education in shaping future entrepreneurs, Dr Omwansa posed a critical question: “In the entrepreneurship education of your own institution, do you think we are building people to get a grade, or are we building people to become founders and create SMEs?” He urged academic institutions to shift from theoretical learning to practical, hands-on entrepreneurial training that equips young innovators with the skills to build sustainable businesses.

Vice president of Heritors Labs, Kofi Ocloo, in buttressing the need for scaled industry uptake of research works, called for urgent steps to entrench commercialisation of innovation and research outcomes across the continent. 

Our local industry and entrepreneurs travel abroad for solutions when home-made solutions remain in our labs. As stakeholders, we must ensure that research is transformed into solutions that change lives across the continent, he said.

Among several recommendations, speakers at the summit called for structured and safe teaching models that will support the transition of universities into dynamic hubs for innovation and entrepreneurship. They also suggested the training of institutional leaders to serve as champions of research commercialisation across the continent.

On his part, the country technical lead for the RISA Fund in Ghana, Gameli Adzaho, said that ARICS 2025 was the right to advance discussions towards scaling innovation commercialisation within the African research value chain.

He urged cross-border collaborations and actions that will facilitate the adoption of home-made solutions, whilst assuring stakeholders of the fund’s resolve to support interventions that seek to advance commercialisation, including roping in rural communities, closing gender gaps, and empowering young researchers and innovators.

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