Ghana urged to adopt sustainable financing models to commercialize science and technology innovations

Ghana risks missing out on the full benefits of science, technology, and innovation (STI) unless bold and sustainable financing models are implemented to move research from laboratories to the marketplace, Suweibatu Adam, Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), has cautioned.

Speaking at a high-level plenary of the Building Effective States and Transformation (BEST) Forum in Accra, themed “Unlocking Industrial Potential: Strategic Approaches for Ghana’s Economic Transformation,” she stressed that STI is now central to economic growth, industrial transformation, and inclusive prosperity. The session, organised by the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) in partnership with MEST, focused on innovative financing for the commercialisation of research and technology.

Delivering her remarks through Professor Paul Bosu, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ms Adam noted that Ghanaian innovations such as the Veronica bucket during COVID-19 and Goliath Robotics’ locally manufactured wheelchairs remain underutilised without adequate financing. She highlighted government initiatives, including the National Research Fund, the Startup and Innovation Bill, and technology transfer offices in universities as key steps to strengthen the research ecosystem.

Professor Adelaide Mensah, Acting Administrator of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF), disclosed that the Fund’s first board, inaugurated in June 2025, is drafting regulations on intellectual property, technology transfer, and commercialisation. Seed funding will soon be rolled out to support universities, research institutions, and innovators, ensuring that outputs are protected and commercially viable.

Senior Fellow at ACET, Blaise Bayuo, emphasised Ghana’s target of increasing public and private expenditure on research and development to 0.6% of GDP by 2030 but noted that the current STI ecosystem remains fragmented, underfunded, and heavily donor-dependent. Chisom Udemezue, Technical Advisor on STI at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), underscored the importance of inclusive financing models to support innovators from ideation to commercialisation and highlighted UK initiatives like the Sankore Project and RISER Fund as supportive of Ghana’s commercialisation roadmap.