ALGIERS, Algeria, September 16, 2025: The African Research and Innovation Hub (ARIH) that was recently launched by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has set it upon itself to unlock up to USD 70 billion annually in economic gains for Africa by boosting innovation-driven sustainable growth.
ARIH is expected to catalyse technological sovereignty, intra-African trade, sustainable growth, and structural transformation of African economies by fostering scientific research, innovation, and commercialisation of homegrown technologies. It is mainly designed to accelerate intra-African trade and structural transformation by exploiting the organic linkages among academia, industry, and policymakers with scalable innovations.
The hub is structured to address low investment in research and development (R&D) in Africa and the continent’s underperformance in research output by fostering innovation, commercialisation, and building partnerships among academia, industry, and policymakers in order to double Africa’s R&D expenditure to unlock economic benefits.
Speaking during the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), Group Chief Economist and Managing Director for Research at Afreximbank, Dr. Yemi Kale, said: “The establishment of the African Research and Innovation Hub marks a pivotal moment for Africa’s scientific and technological ecosystem. It signals Afreximbank’s commitment to harnessing Africa’s homegrown talent and transforming Africa’s intellectual capital into industrial competitiveness, trade expansion, and sustainable development.”
Dr. Kale pointed out that Africa currently contributes less than three per cent of global research output, despite the urgent challenges confronting it, while saying that “accelerating Africa’s innovation ecosystem to support economic growth, trade diversification and technological sovereignty is, therefore, an objective we are happy to commit to.”
He added that: “Our vision is for ARIH to be a transformational platform that seeks to convert intellectual capital into industrial competitiveness and trade-led growth, recognising that a doubling of Africa’s R&D expenditure by one per cent of GDP could unlock up to USD70 billion annually. We also see ARIH positioning itself as a vital conduit connecting academia, industry, policymakers, and investors to accelerate Africa’s path to inclusive and sustainable growth.”
The ARIH activities at IATF2025 included award presentations to 12 groundbreaking research and innovative projects from across Africa and the Caribbean, demonstrating real potential to address Africa’s pressing challenges.
Director for Development Research at Afreximbank, Dr. Anthony Coleman, urged the winners to broaden their innovative horizons to tackle Africa’s technology gaps and development challenges effectively. He assured them of Afreximbank’s commitment to nurturing ARIH as a long-term avenue for Africa’s innovation ecosystem. Dr Coleman further challenged them to sustain the momentum by leveraging the platform as a springboard for collaborative efforts among scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs to advance Africa’s intra-regional trade and economic transformation.
