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24.04.2023
Digital Transformation and the Developmental Role of African Universities – Digital Centres and Digital Futures at Universities in South Africa

Digital Transformation and the Developmental Role of African Universities – Digital Centres and Digital Futures at Universities in South Africa

In volume 23 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook a major theme is the digital transformation, its impact on digital business opportunities, and the spread of digital business start-ups in African countries. Various general issues of digital transformation in Africa are covered in the Yearbook to assess the economic and social effects of digitalization, but in two Units of the volume 23 we find country cases of digitalization for Senegal and South Africa. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures (ICDF) of the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa has contributed with a full Unit to volume 23, and various essays in this Unit highlight the developmental role of the UFS for digital transformation in the Free State and all over South Africa. So, this Unit is of relevance for other universities in Africa as they can learn from the Unit how to contribute to digital transformation.

The UFS is a cooperation partner of the University of Bremen, and the economics faculties and departments of the two universities have a strong cooperation on teaching, training, and research. As the UFS has established some years ago an Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures (ICDF), the innovative aspects of this centre are of wide interest and the role of the centre and of the university for local development can be assessed. In the essays we find valuable information and a discussion about the interactions between the various departments of the university and the economic, social and cultural sectors of the Free State. Projects on digital transformation are related to sectors such as agriculture, health, and education, but also to media, IT, arts and culture sectors.

Essays by the ICDF for the volume 23 of the Yearbook cover three sectors of economic and social development, namely promoting small farmer agriculture, reconstructing the public health sector, and building human capital through progress in the education sector. Projects are assessed and implemented which have a focus on the local settings around the UFS. As the UFS is still in a province with sharp divisions in terms of income levels, poverty rates, schooling conditions, and scores for other social development indicators, the ICDF of the University of the Free State (UFS) can adapt the digital transformation strategies towards the different development levels that exist in the province. And indeed, the ICDF has in focus all these areas of the Free State, such as the agriculture of the poor and the rich peasants, the schooling conditions of the poor and the rich children, and the access to the health system by the poor and the rich citizens. The UFS has - via the ICDF – created digital offers to support local development of diverse social groups. The ICDF is therefore of interest as a model for other African universities.

 Source: UFS; this is the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS)

The basic document of the ICDF which is presented in English and in a German translation  (see: PDF ICDF Core Document 2023-Original Document and PDF Digital Centre UFS South Africa 2023 - German Translation) has a Vision and is guiding the digital work at the ICDF for the UFS, by integrating the digital research and teaching work of the UFS faculties, by arranging different forms of collaboration with partners in industry and local government, by organising international cooperation projects, conferences and workshops, by looking at local development fields to improve the productivity and the well-being of small farmers and local workers in agriculture, by strengthening the capacity of the education system in poor areas, and by developing the accessibility of the medical systems via e-health offers. The English version of the ICDF Vision is complemented by a version based on a German translation (via Google) to give more access to these fresh ideas. It is of interest to see that the UFS has developed something like a digital centre with local ownership. The ICDF was developed out of the faculties of the UFS, but it can also benefit from analysing what other African countries are doing in this direction.

In Africa, digital centres were established at many universities in various African countries, and universities of the Global North are often involved as well as donor agencies like the World Bank, the AFD and the GIZ (see on the recent initiatives to support digital development centres, digital competence centres, and digital education tools at African universities: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210714100938827). The Association of African Universities (AAU), which has a membership of about 400 universities, is active on digital development centres and on digital competence centres, supporting digital training and digital research at African excellence universities. The British Council has a programme called the  Digital University Africa (see about: https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/he-science/our-work/higher-education-partnerships/digital-university-africa). Centres of Competence in Digital Education are promoted by the AAU-EPFL joint capacity-building initiative. The Association of African Universities (AAU) and the EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne of Switzerland) are implementing the build-up of Centres of Competence in Digital Education (C-CoDE). The Initiative is dependent on inputs from the Global North (see about the C-CoDE initiative: https://ace.aau.org/the-c-code-initiative-kicks-off-to-build-competencies-in-digital-education/). Studies about such digital transformation approaches at universities and about the links to industry and society were done by Professor Karl Wohlmuth; see the numbers 128 and 129 of the Blue Series Discussion Papers of IWIM: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/blaue_reihe/; for the direct download of the numbers 128 and 129 see: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/files/dateien/188_wohlmuth_digital_transformation_africa_layout_blue_series_number_128_9_2019.pdf, and: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/files/dateien/1848_pdf_langfassung_wwc_berichte_wohlmuth_globale_technologieentwicklung_und_afrika_6_2021.pdf. It is of great interest to look at the various approaches which are emerging towards the development of digital competence centres in Africa. The cooperation between the University of Bremen and the University of the Free State in South Africa has a great potential to learn from both sides, from a university in the Global South and from a university in the Global North.

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05.09.2022
Die Perspektiven der fiskalischen Kapazität in Afrika in Zeiten von multiplen globalen Krisen – Ein neues Publikationsprojekt

Seit 1989 wird von Professor Dr. Karl Wohlmuth an der Universität Bremen mit Unterstützung des Fachbereichs Wirtschaftswissenschaft das African Development Perspectives Yearbook herausgegeben. Die Herausgebergruppe hat nun für den Band 24 (2024/2025) das Thema „Fiskalische Kapazität und Ressourcenmobilisierung in Afrika – Neue Strategien und neue Instrumente“ festgelegt. Der Call for Papers (siehe die PDF) enthält alle wichtigen Angaben zu den Inhalten, zur Struktur und zum Zeitplan dieses Projekts.

Die fiskalischen Auswirkungen der multiplen globalen Krisen für Afrika werden analysiert

Die globalen Krisen (COVID-19, Störung der globalen Lieferketten, Klimakrise, Aggressionskrieg gegen die Ukraine, globale Energie- und Lebensmittelkrisen) haben erhebliche Auswirkungen auf die fiskalische Kapazität vieler Länder in Afrika. Die Steuereinnahmen stagnieren schon seit Jahren in Afrika und die Nicht-Steuer-Einnahmen vieler Staaten in Afrika (etwa aus Rohstoffrenten) sind sogar rückläufig. Globale Hilfen können die wachsende Finanzierungslücke nicht decken. Die fiskalische Kapazität kann aber durch diverse Interventionen des Staates um mindestens 10% des Bruttoinlandsproduktes (BIP) erhöht werden: durch die Mobilisierung von Steuereinnahmen und von Nicht-Steuereinnahmen des Staates, durch die Reduzierung von Steuerumgehung und Steuervermeidung, durch neue Verfahren der elektronischen Besteuerung, durch konsequente antizyklische Fiskalpolitiken, und durch eine effizientere Steuerverwaltung. Diese Aspekte sollen im Band 24 des Jahrbuchs in Länder-, Sektor-, Interessengruppen- und Unternehmensanalysen, aber auch in Literaturberichten und in analytisch-methodischen Aufsätzen zu neuen Politiken und Instrumenten diskutiert werden.

Forschungsprojekte des Fachbereichs und der internationalen Kooperationspartner werden einbezogen

Das African Development Perspectives Yearbook hat zwei konstituierende Prinzipien, die die Arbeit der Herausgeber leiten. Erstens werden Beispiele für erfolgreiche Politiken und Programme analysiert, um die Politik und die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (EZ) anzuregen, diese Erfolgsmodelle auch in anderen Ländern Afrikas umzusetzen. Zweitens wird jeder Beitrag mit einem Strategieteil abgeschlossen, um den Verantwortlichen für die Umsetzung von Politiken Hinweise zu geben wie Reformen erfolgreich durchgeführt werden können. Der Band 22 (für 2020/2021) über „Das Nachhaltigkeitsziel Neun (Infrastruktur, Innovation, Industrialisierung) und Afrikas Entwicklung“ ist im Vorjahr erschienen (vgl. unten das Foto des Covers von Band 22). Der Band 23 (für 2022/2023) über „Digitale Transformation, neue Geschäftsmöglichkeiten und Start-Ups in Afrika“ ist fertiggestellt und bereits in Druck. Prof. Dr. Jörg Freiling berichtet in diesem Band über eine Fallstudie und ein Forschungsprogramm zum Thema „Afrikas transnationale digitale Unternehmen/Unternehmer“. Der Kooperationspartner des Fachbereichs in Südafrika (University of the Free State) steuerte eine ganze Unit (mit fünf Beiträgen) über den Entwicklungsbeitrag des neuen universitären Digital Development Centre der Universität im Free State bei.

Cover des Bandes 22 (2020/2021) des African Development Perspectives Yearbook

Das African Development Perspectives Yearbook ist eine Peer-Review-Publikation und nun auch eine Open Access-Publikation

Wichtige Ergebnisse der Befragung von früheren Herausgebern und Autoren des Jahrbuchs führten zu wesentlichen Neuerungen in Format und Inhalt, die sich auch bereits im Band 23 finden. Die Festschrift “Thirty Years (1989 - 2019) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook – Impacts on Policy Reforms in Africa” enthält gewichtige Beiträge von früheren Herausgebern und Autoren und auch Schlussfolgerungen des gegenwärtigen Herausgeberteams; vgl. zu der Veröffentlichung: Zugang zum Download: https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/4652, und als PDF: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/files/dateien/1837_wohlmuth_festschrift_thirty_years_6_2020_2.pdf. Der erste Band des Jahrbuchs ist 1989 erschienen. Insbesondere für die entwicklungspolitische Diskussion über Afrika und für die politische Umsetzung der Reformen in Afrika sind die Ausgaben des Jahrbuchs von Bedeutung. Das Jahrbuch ist nun das führende englischsprachige Jahrbuch über Afrika in Deutschland.

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30.04.2022
African Development Perspectives Yearbook: Volume 23 (2022/2023) is now finalized by the Editors and Volume 24 (2024) is now planned by the Editorial Committee



It is good news that volume 23 (2022/2023) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook is now finalized by the editors of the forthcoming yearbook.
The title is “Business Opportunities, Start-ups and Digital Transformation in Africa”. The theme for volume 23 (2022/2023) is related to the ongoing global digital transformation, with impacts on productive sectors, entrepreneurs, households, and the society also in Africa. African countries are quite differently advancing in the process of digital transformation, as some African countries are even leading in this process by presenting digital solutions to current problems as we could see in the COVID-19 crisis, while others lag behind. The COVID-19 crisis has revealed that health systems, education systems, government structures, financial services firms, and manufacturing processes in industry are impacted by the digital transformation. Digital platforms give access to medical innovations, give information about lockdown modalities and hygiene advice, and provide for local availability of personal health protection utensils so that also those living in remote rural areas and in semi-urban areas can be reached. Those who are working in informal sector occupations get also access to digital media and to digital technologies. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies are widely spread in economic sectors of Africa. Digital entrepreneurship is playing an increasing role, and the number of start-ups is increasing in Africa. Some start-ups move along their lifecycle (establishing, consolidating, growing, and internationalizing); when they are growing, they become attractive partners of established firms. In some manufacturing sub-sectors of Africa we see a process of “repurposing” of industries towards producing basic goods for protecting people from COVID-19 and for supplying instruments to assist infected patients in hospitals and in care. It is obvious that the business opportunities in Africa are increasing in many directions with the spread of digital technologies; the country cases in this volume are of great interest in this context.

Volume 23 (2022/2023) will have four Units (so we call the various parts of the volumes). The forthcoming volume benefitted from guest editors and editors who selected from the great number of proposed contributions the most appropriate ones, decided upon after a rigorous review process. As the African Development  Perspectives Yearbook is now an Open Access publication, it is policy to step up the review process to highest international standards. The African Development Perspectives Yearbook is now the most important English-language annual publication on Africa in Germany, and the publication is of increasing interest for African policymakers as the inclusive and sustainable development strategies for Africa play a great role in all the Units and in all the Volumes. Unit 1 is on  General Issues of Digital Transformation, Digital Entrepreneurship and Development of Business Opportunities. Unit 1 contains five essays: an essay on the interaction between productive capacities and digital transformation in Africa, an essay on “Silicon Valley” type-digital zones in Africa, an essay on Diaspora Digital Entrepreneurs in and from Africa, an essay on the role of the finance sector for digital transformation, and an essay on the digitalization of pharmaceutical industries and of health sectors in Africa. There is a country focus on Cameroon and Nigeria in Unit 1. Unit 2 is on Digital Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation in West Africa, with four essays on case studies in Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. Focus is on digital start-ups and their environment and on business conglomerates which are growing by using 4IR technologies. It is the intention to analyse the new business opportunities and the opportunities for the growth of firms. It is of interest to study the competitive position of the start-ups and the small digital enterprises and as well the policy approaches of the governments to support such enterprises. Unit 3 is on South Africa, by focussing on the role of Digital Development Centres of Universities to support households and firms in their surroundings. Case studies in the four essays which are included in the Unit 3 relate to the digital support of small female food producers and to the role of digital twinning technologies for agriculture development, while the other two essays highlight issues for the upgrading of education and health sectors through digital technologies. Unit 4 is on Book Reviews and Book Notes, mainly related to new publications on Digital Transformation, Start-ups and Business Opportunities. These four Units give new insights into the spread of 4IR technologies over sectors, activities, countries, and regions through the creation of new enterprises and the digital mobilization of established firms in Africa, but the policy issues and the government actions towards digitalization have also a central role.

The Editorial Committee has decided about the title and the focus of volume 24 (2024). The volume will have the title “Fiscal Capacity and Resource Mobilization in Africa - New Strategies and New Instruments”. The COVID 19 crisis has impacted heavily on the macroeconomics of African countries - through lockdowns and isolations, but mainly through the interaction of detrimental supply and demand shocks. Important issues in relation to the theme of the planned volume are the following: The share of tax revenues to GDP in Africa is stagnating and the share of non-tax revenues to GDP is declining, volatile, and irregular; so there is need to arrange for a new strategy for taxation and for increasing non-tax revenues. As COVID 19 has increased the overall budget deficits of African countries and has created new debt problems in an environment of insufficient global debt servicing support measures, new national, regional and global strategies at resource mobilization are needed. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will also have repercussions on the fiscal capacity, positive and negative ones; all this will depend on the type and speed of implementation of policy actions for the AfCFTA. Some social sectors, like health and education, but also infrastructure sectors, such as water and sanitation, transport infrastructure and logistics, will need more investment and will depend on appropriate fiscal space.

Various sub-sectors for the digital transformation (ICT and digital network infrastructure, public support for the spread of 4IR technologies) will need more investment and funds for operations and maintenance. Also, social safety nets for the poor and for neglected social groups have to be reviewed and extended, what can be better done with new digitalization instruments. The transformation of key economic sectors will also benefit from strategies to increase the fiscal capacity and to mobilize resources at all government levels. New foreign debt strategies and new approaches to generate global funds for key policy fields in Africa play a role. The fiscal capacity at sub-national levels is of interest as well as the fiscal capacity at the level of regional economic communities in Africa. Not only new strategies for increasing the fiscal capacity are requested urgently, but also new budget instruments for policy design, policy evaluation, policy monitoring, and policy implementation are needed.

An International Call for  Papers for volume 24 (2024) will be released soon. It is expected that again guest editors will assist the volume editors from the Editorial Committee in the further work on the newly planned yearbook edition. Also numerous reviewers will help the editors to support the project.

Access to Information about the African Development Perspectives Yearbook: An Open Access Publication Project

http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=345&lng=de

http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/afrikanische_entwicklungsperspektiven_research_group_/

http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=340&lng=de

http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=341&lng=de

Access to Information about the Festschrift for the African Development Perspectives Yearbook (The 30 Years Anniversary - 1989-2019): The Festschrift contains a lot of recommendations for the future work of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook collaborators and partners.

Second Edition of the Festschrift:

https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/bitstream/elib/4652/1/Wohlmuth-Festschrift.pdf

Festschrift of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen at the occasion of:
Thirty Years (1989 - 2019) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook – Impacts on Policy Reforms in Africa
A Collection of Essays, Statements, and Commentaries by Editors, Contributors, Sponsors, and Supporters
Compiled by Professor Karl Wohlmuth, University of Bremen, Chief Editor of the Yearbook since 1989
First Edition November 2020, Second Edition January 2021

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31.01.2021
Thirty Years (1989 - 2019) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook – Impacts on Policy Reforms in Africa – A second edition of the “Festschrift” is now available.
A second edition of the “Festschrift” was published recently by the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen at the occasion of the 30 years anniversary of the Yearbook. The title of the Festschrift is “Thirty Years (1989 - 2019) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook – Impacts on Policy Reforms in Africa”. It was compiled by Professor Karl Wohlmuth, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany, Director of the Research Group and Chief Editor of the Yearbook since 1989 (see the PDF under Wohlmuth-Festschrift Thirty Years). While the first edition appeared in November 2020, the second edition is from January 2021. The Festschrift is now also published by the Library of the University of Bremen (link: https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/449).
 
The Festschrift contains various statements and chapters to celebrate the work over 30 years. In Foreword and Acknowledgements by Professor Dr. Karl Wohlmuth the history of the Yearbook project is presented. The Statements by the University of Bremen for the Press (in English and German) inform about the character of the annual publication on Africa and about the ambitions for the future work of the Research Group.
 
In Chapter 1: How did It Start: The Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen and the Formative Years of the Yearbook, there is a description of the work of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen and an essay by the co- founder of the Yearbook project Professor Dr. Robert Kappel, Professor at Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany, and former president of GIGA, Hamburg, Germany about “The Formative Years of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook”.
 
In Chapter 2: What were the Topics: Thirty Years (1989 - 2019) of Africa’s Development and the African Development Perspectives Yearbook, there is for all volumes a short description of the Selected Theme, the Content of the Volume, the Highlights of the Volume, the Cover of the Book, and information about the Units of the Volume.
 
In Chapter 3: Who Did Cooperate and Why: The Statements of Supporters, Editors, Contributors, Reviewers, there is a great number of statements by cooperants to give an account of their affiliation with the Yearbook and with the Research Group, specifically about the type, the years, and the forms of cooperation, the main messages for and the impressions about the Yearbook, and the Proposals for the Future of the Yearbook.
 
In Chapter 4: How to prepare for the Future: Proposals for important Themes, changes of Format, and the adaptation of the Working Procedures we find a Statement by the Managing Editor of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Professor Dr. Tobias Knedlik, University of the Applied Sciences Fulda, and Research Professor IWH Halle, Germany, and a Statement by the Book Reviews and Book Notes Editor of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Professor Dr. Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour, Full Professor at the University of Khartoum, Sudan and member of numerous international research  and advisory institutions. Also, the Key Pillars of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook are considered to answer the question: What should be preserved? Then, there is a presentation about The Future of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook: What should be changed? 
 
Finally, the Festschrift contains information about accessing all the volumes and how to contact the editorial group; this is found under the title: The African Development Perspectives Yearbook: Information to access the volumes. This part has also relevant information about Websites, Contact, Wikipedia entry about the Yearbook, and the Imprint.
 
The Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen is presenting soon the volume 22 for 2020/2021 about “SDG 9 and Africa” (see the entry on the homepage) and has submitted an International Call for Papers for Volume 23 (2022) on the theme “Business Opportunities, Start-ups and Digital Transformation in Africa” (see the entry on the homepage). There is already great interest in reading volume 22 (2020/2021) and to become part of the new Yearbook project for volume 23/2022 (see the entry on the homepage: https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/african_development_perspectives_yearbook/). The International Call for Papers for volume 23 (2022) is available as a PDF: International Call for Papers Volume 23).
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30.01.2021
“Business Opportunities, Start-ups and Digital Transformation”: International Call for Papers, African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Volume 23 (2022)

Invited are contributions for Volume 23 (2022) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook with the title “Business Opportunities, Start-ups and Digital Transformation in Africa” (International Call for Papers Volume 23, 2022). The contributions should be evidence-based and policy-oriented. High academic standards are requested and will be reviewed by referees. Non-technical papers with deep analysis, which are readable by practitioners in development cooperation and by media people, have a high priority in the selection process. The analytical concept of the proposed contribution and the methodological framework of analysis should be outlined in the Abstract which is submitted to the Editors.

The theme for volume 23 (2022) on “Business Opportunities, Start-ups and Digital Transformation in Africa” is related to the ongoing global digital transformation, with impacts on productive sectors and the society also in Africa. African countries are differently advancing in the process of digital transformation, and some countries are even leading in this process by presenting digital solutions to current problems as we can see now in the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 crisis reveals that health systems, education systems, government structures, financial services, and manufacturing processes are impacted by the digital transformation. Digital platforms give access to medical innovations, give information about hygiene advice, and provide for local availability of health protection utensils so that those living in remote rural areas and in semi-urban areas can also be reached. Those who are working in informal sector occupations get also access to digital media. In manufacturing sectors, we see a process of repurposing of industries towards basic goods for protecting people from COVID-19. We also encourage contributions along these lines.

The volume 23 (2022) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook will cover three main issues:

First, the new business opportunities created by the digital transformation will be reviewed. Consumers, producers, traders, and entrepreneurs benefit from the new business opportunities. New products, new services, new forms of cooperation, and new supply chains emerge.

Second, the digital transformation increases the number of start-ups and venture capital funds in Africa. All types of start-ups are growing rapidly in Africa, and digital entrepreneurship is advancing not only in technology hubs but in all areas where Internet access is given. The many emerging start-ups (in all productive sectors and in all branches of digital transformation) and finance institutions (from venture capital funds to impact, innovation and technology funds) are important for employment creation, structural transformation, poverty reduction, and the connection to local, regional and global markets.

Third, there are longer-term implications of the digital transformation for the productive sectors, mainly for manufacturing sectors and for agribusiness. But there are also strong impacts on services and administration sub-sectors.

It is an intention to publish in volume 23 country-specific, company-specific and sector-specific digital transformation cases, company success stories, but also analytic essays on the perspectives of the “fourth industrial revolution” for Africa and on the impacts of “globalization 4.0” on Africa. It is also of great interest to see how informal sectors can become part of the core economy in Africa through the digital transformation. COVID-19 is affecting the pace of the digital transformation in Africa, and this process needs to be documented.

The Book Reviews/Book Notes Editor (Professor Samia Nour, University of Khartoum) invites authors, research institutes and publishers to send books, discussion papers, documents, and journals for review. The material should be related to the theme of volume 23 (2022).

To get an overview of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook project please look at the links: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/africanyearbook.htm, and: https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/african_development_perspectives_yearbook/.

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25.05.2020
The African Development Perspectives Yearbook celebrates an Anniversary after Thirty Years (1989 – 2019) of Impact - A new volume was recently published for 2019 with the title “Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth In Africa - Human Skills Development And Country Cases”

When the Yearbook Series started in 1989 with a volume on “Human Dimensions of Adjustment” no one of the founders thought that this project would exist for thirty years and more. But now we can say that the demand for this Yearbook was  continuously on the increase. The volumes became over time important additions to the literature on African Development Perspectives. We are proud to say that the African Development Perspectives Yearbook is now the leading English-language annual in Germany on Africa. The volumes are still organized around Units, comprising three to five essays, and each Unit is introduced by editors through a presentation of issues and strategies that follow from the messages of the essays. Each volume has a specific theme which is of utmost importance in the discussion about development policies for Africa. The editors still preserve this way of grouping the material, when presenting the analytical essays, the field studies, the documents, the reviews, the briefs and the notes.

We observe that some of the volumes which appeared in the 1990s and in the 2000s are again at the centre of policy discussions about Africa, just to mention “Good Governance and Economic Development” or “Industrialization based on Agricultural Development” or “Africa - Escaping the Primary Commodities Dilemma” or “Active Labour and Employment  Policies in Africa”. It is interesting to see how relevant some of the proposals mentioned there still are in the policy discussion, and so they are cited again and again. These volumes are still sold and read, and the impact on the policymakers in Africa and at the global level encourages us to continue with the work for the Yearbook Project. The strong interest about the Yearbook themes follows the discussion about development strategies for Africa at global and regional levels. So, the launch of the Yearbook volume for 2015/16 on “Africa's Progress in Regional and Global Economic Integration – Towards Transformative Regional Integration” by UNECA in Kigali, Rwanda had a great effect; the messages and the lessons were taken up Africa-wide with great interest and recognition.

The new volumes for 2018 and 2019 are unique as they highlight a Science, Technology and  Innovation (STI)-led development strategy for Africa (see the Cover of each volume below). The strategies developed are taking up African positions and proposals, but these are critically analysed and confronted with the “state of the art” analyses about global achievements with regard of STI and Inclusive Growth policies. Country cases play in all the volumes a great role. In these two volumes we have taken up country cases for Nigeria, Sudan, Cameroon, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Egypt. Some country cases are considered in a full Unit, like for Sudan, Nigeria, Egypt and Tunisia, others in the form of one or two essays (such as for Mauritania and Cameroon). The specific theme for a volume is also enriched by a full Unit on Book Reviews and Book Notes. All the relevant literature on global, regional, national and local issues is considered by reviewers who are working in the  area of STI and Inclusive Growth policies.

Contributors, Editors, and Supporters of the Project will work on an Anniversary Festschrift on “Thirty Years (1989-2019) of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook” to highlight the achievements and main outcomes, the messages and lessons for policymakers, and to make proposals and plans to prepare for the future perspectives of the Yearbook project. The University of Bremen has supported the project now over more than three decades. A press report was prepared and issued by the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies and the University of Bremen (see it as a PDF FB 7 - Info Jahrbuch/Yearbook, and as a Link https://www.uni-bremen.de/wiwi/news/detailansicht/ein-projekt-der-afrikaforschung-an-der-universitaet-bremen). The volume for 2020/21 with the title “Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Infrastructure, Industrialization, Innovation) and African Development – Challenges and Opportunities” is now finalized by research teams. There are already concrete plans for the 2022 volume with the theme “Business Opportunities, Growth of Innovative Start-ups, and Digital Transformation in Africa”. An International Call for Papers for the 2022 volume will be made available in the next few months.

Information about the Yearbook Project is made available under:
https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/african_development_perspectives_yearbook/
http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=345&lng=de
https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/afrikanische_entwicklungsperspektiven/

The LIT Verlag is the partner of the Yearbook project:
https://www.lit-verlag.de/publikationen/reihen/african-development-perspectives-yearbook/?p=1

Under a WIKIPEDIA entry you see a short description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Development_Perspectives_Yearbook

 

 

Bibliographic Information:
African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2019
Science, Technology And Innovation Policies For Inclusive Growth In Africa - Human Skills Development And Country Cases,
Edited by Achim Gutowski, Nazar Mohamed Hassan, Tobias Knedlik, Chantal Marie Ngo Tong, Karl Wohlmuth,
LIT Verlag Wien, Zürich 2020
ISBN  978-3-643-91173-5 (pb)
ISBN 978-3-643-96173-0 (PDF)
i-xxxvi und 527 Seiten und i-x

 

Bibliographic Information:
African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2018
Science, Technology And Innovation Policies For Inclusive Growth In Africa – General Issues And Country Cases,
Edited by Reuben A. Alabi, Achim Gutowski, Nazar Mohamed Hassan, Tobias Knedlik, Samia Satti Mohamed Nour, Karl Wohlmuth,
LIT Verlag Wien, Zürich 2018
ISBN  978-3-643-91042-4 (pb)
ISBN  978-3-643-96042-9 (PDF)
i-xxx und 555 Seiten und i-v

Related to the publishing activity for the Yearbook is the research activity of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen (see about the Research Group the PDF ADPY Research Group, and the links to follow-up the research activity related to the themes of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook:
http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/afrikanische_entwicklungsperspektiven_research_group_/, and:
http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=340&lng=de, and:
http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=341&lng=de, and:
https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/afrikanische_entwicklungsperspektiven/).
Guest researchers, currently from Nigeria, are participating in the researches of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen (see: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/environment_and_development_management_nigeria_germany/). They also serve as editors and co-editors of Units/Volumes.

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25.05.2020
30 Jahre „African Development Perspectives Yearbook” – Ein Projekt der Afrikaforschung an der Universität Bremen

Von Fragen der Industrialisierung, der Agrarentwicklung und der Armutsbekämpfung bis hin zu Wissenschaft, Technologie und Innovation als Voraussetzungen für inklusives Wachstum in Afrika reichen die Themen, die im Jahrbuch abgehandelt werden. Drei Jahrzehnte afrikanischer Entwicklungen und Politikreformen sind im Fokus dieses Publikationsprojektes der Bremer Universität gewesen, und das Projekt wird weitergeführt. Die Forschungsgruppe Afrikanische Entwicklungsperspektiven Bremen unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Karl Wohlmuth und das Institut für Weltwirtschaft und Internationales Management (IWIM) am Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft der Universität Bremen haben dieses Bremer Entwicklungsprojekt für Afrika begründet. Vor wenigen Wochen ist nun der Band für 2019 des „African Development Perspectives Yearbook“ erschienen (siehe das Cover unten). Der Titel des englischsprachigen Bandes lautet „Science, Technology And Innovation Policies For Inclusive Growth In Africa – Human Skills Development And Country Cases” („Wissenschafts-, Technologie- und Innovationspolitiken für inklusives Wachstum in Afrika – Entwicklung der menschlichen Fähigkeiten und Länderstudien“).


Die Forschungsgruppe unter der Leitung von Professor Dr. Karl Wohlmuth startete mit ihrer Arbeit bereits 1988 und gab seinerzeit den Band 1 des Afrika-Jahrbuchs mit dem Titel „Human Dimensions of Adjustment“ („Menschliche Dimensionen der Anpassung“) im Jahr 1989 heraus (siehe das Cover unten). Dieser Band fand sehr großes Interesse, weil eine neue und kritische Sicht auf die Vorschläge von internationalen Finanzorganisationen für Wirtschaftsreformen in Afrika präsentiert wurde. In den 30 Jahren von 1989 bis 2019 wurden immer wieder zentrale Fragen der afrikanischen Entwicklung unter dem Gesichtspunkt der notwendigen Politikreformen aufgegriffen und tiefschürfend abgehandelt. Wichtige Themen waren etwa: Industrialisierung auf der Basis landwirtschaftlicher Entwicklung; Energie für Afrikas Entwicklung; Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitiken für Afrika; Regionale Chancen und Perspektiven der Beschäftigung; Governance und ökonomische Entwicklung; Economic Empowerment von kleinen Produzenten in Afrika; Afrikas Reintegration in die Weltwirtschaft; Privatsektorenentwicklung und Entrepreneurship Development in Afrika; Öffentliche und private Wirtschaftssektoren in Afrika im Gleichgewicht; Auswege aus dem Dilemma der Primärgüterexporte; Rohstoffabhängigkeit und Exportdiversifizierung in Afrika; Neue Wachstums- und Armutsbekämpfungsstrategien für Afrika; Internationale, regionale, institutionelle und lokale Strategien der Armutsbekämpfung in Afrika; die Auswirkungen der globalen Finanzkrise auf die Wirtschaftsreformen in Afrika; die Formierung und Implementierung makroökonomischer Politiken in Afrika; Regionale Integration und makroökonomische Politik in Afrika; Afrikas Fortschritte bei der regionalen und globalen Wirtschaftsintegration, und nun in zwei Bänden für 2018 und 2019 die Thematik der Wissenschafts-, Technologie- und Innovationspolitik als Hebel für eine inklusive Wachstumspolitik in Afrika. Alles Themen, die jeweils im Mittelpunkt der Entwicklungspolitik für Afrika standen bzw. noch immer stehen.

 

Über dieses Jubiläum wurde eine Presseerklärung verfasst (vgl. die PDF Info 30 Jahre Jahrbuch). Vgl. dazu auch die Mitteilungen auf der Homepage des Fachbereichs Wirtschaftswissenschaft der Universität Bremen: https://www.uni-bremen.de/wiwi/news/detailansicht/ein-projekt-der-afrikaforschung-an-der-universitaet-bremen. Es ist auch geplant, eine Online-Festschrift „30 Jahre African Development Perspectives Yearbook – Reformimpulse für Afrika“ zu veröffentlichen. Wichtige Unterstützer, Herausgeber, Autoren wollen sich zu dem Projekt äußern.

Bibliographische Information über die neue Publikation:

African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2019

Science, Technology And Innovation Policies For Inclusive Growth In Africa - Human Skills Development And Country Cases,

Edited by Achim Gutowski, Nazar Mohamed Hassan, Tobias Knedlik, Chantal Marie Ngo Tong, Karl Wohlmuth,
LIT Verlag Wien, Zürich 2020
ISBN  978-3-643-91173-5 (pb)
ISBN 978-3-643-96173-0 (PDF)
i-xxxvi und 527 Seiten und i-x

Infos über die Publikationsreihe: 1989-2019

http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/index.php?content=345&lng=de
http://www.lit-verlag.de/reihe/adpy


Der nächste Band des Jahrbuchs für 2020/21 ist in Vorbereitung und wird dem Thema “Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Infrastructure, Industrialization, Innovation) and African Development – Challenges and Opportunities” gewidmet sein. Vgl. den International Call for Papers zur Übersicht der Inhalte (PDF International Call for Papers Volume 22). Für das Jahr 2022 ist das Thema „Business Opportunities, Growth of Start-Ups, and Digital Transformation in Africa” in Planung.

Durch Forschungsprojekte wird die Herausgabe dieser Bände unterstützt. Ein aktuelles Forschungsprojekt der Forschungsgruppe Afrikanische Entwicklungsperspektiven Bremen thematisiert die Frage, ob die Tendenzen der De-Industrialisierung in Afrika durch die globalen technologischen Entwicklungen und durch die globale digitale Transformation eher verstärkt oder aber abgeschwächt werden. Das neue Thema ist von hoher Politikrelevanz, weil vielfach nicht nur der Industriesektor in Afrika vor großen Problemen steht, sondern auch der Landwirtschaftssektor unter strukturellen Problemen leidet. Ziel der Forschungsarbeit ist es daher, die Grundlagen einer neuen Industrie- und Landwirtschaftspolitik für Afrika zu erarbeiten, die auf kohärenten Wissenschafts-, Technologie- und Innovationspolitiken beruhen. Vgl. dazu die neue Veröffentlichung über technologische Kompetenzen, Strukturwandel und digitale Transformation in Afrika (Veröffentlichung als Discussion Paper in der Blauen Reihe des IWIM mit dem Titel: „Technological Development, Structural Change and Digital Transformation in Africa“, Nummer 128, 2019); Access: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/blaue_reihe/).

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25.05.2020
New economic policies are proposed for Tunisia - There is a need for a more coherent development strategy

Professor Karl Wohlmuth has recently published various studies on economic reform policies for Tunisia. Such reforms are overdue in a country which has initiated the Arab Spring events in 2011 and since enjoys substantial international support and goodwill from so many developed countries. A summary article is published to give an overview of the key findings of these studies (see the PDF with the synopsis). The analyses are related to vital branches of economic policy, especially on deindustrialization, reindustrialization and employment policies in Tunisia, and also on innovation, regional development and health sector policies for Tunisia.

Most recent is the new volume of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2019 with four studies on Tunisia; the volume was published in early 2020 by the LIT Verlag. Two studies (on innovation and on health sector policies) were done by research groups in Tunisia, the third study on regional development and cluster policies was contributed by an independent researcher on Tunisia, and the fourth study with a focus on development strategies was prepared by two editors of this volume of the Yearbook (see the cover of the Yearbook volume 2019 below). Although Tunisia has quite interesting and sophisticated approaches towards sector policies, the authors found out that there is a need to update the policies and strategies and to synchronize these policies so that the overall development framework becomes more sustainable in Tunisia.

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06.06.2019
New Studies on Implementing Economic Reforms in Tunisia – New Approaches towards Employment Generation, Industrial Development and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Promotion

Two new studies came out from the Bremen Tunisia Project – first, a study on De-Industrialization, Reindustrialization and Employment. Elements of a National Employment Strategy for Tunisia and second, a whole Unit of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2019 containing a set of studies on Innovation Policies, Industrial Cluster Policies and Health Sector Reform Policies in Tunisia. A Synopsis on the proposed strategies for the policymakers was written by Professor Karl Wohlmuth (see the PDF Tunisia-Employment, Industry and STI Policies 2019).

The first study is on implementing economic reforms through a) labour market transformations and laying the institutional foundations for a National Employment Strategy, b) managing de-industrialization through pro-active industrial development policies, c) exploiting multiple paths of reindustrialization via promotion of all productive sectors, regional industry development, supporting viable regional and global value chains and mobilizing green growth potentials in the country, and d) involving new partners and actors in the implementation process of economic reforms, also at regional and global levels. These issues were discussed at a conference on reindustrialization in Tunisia (see about the Reindustrialization Conference in Tunisia and the Bremen Tunisia Project: https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/sti_policies_tunisia/).

In the second study three key areas of STI policies were discussed, first, the role of obstacles to innovation in and among Tunisian firms; second, the role of industrial clusters smart specialization policies for innovations; and third, the role of innovation policies in the health sector comprising all relevant sub-sectors and value chains. These essays are part of a strategy to promote STI policies in North Africa with a focus on Egypt and Tunisia. Two volumes of the African Development  Perspectives Yearbook (Volume 20 for 2018 and Volume 21 for 2019) were devoted to the issue of Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa. These essays are in Volume 21.

The Bremen Tunisia Project is running since 5 years. A short report was presented by Professor Hans-Heinrich Bass from the  University of Applied Sciences Bremen at a jubilee meeting in 2018 for an international study programme on Applied Economic Languages (AWS/Angewandte Wirtschaftssprachen) Arabic, Japanese and Chinese running for 30 years (see Bass Presentation AWS). Volume 21 for 2019 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook is also part of a jubilee event in 2019 as this Yearbook Project is now running for 30 (thirty) years, as the number one issue on Human Dimensions of Adjustment in Africa was published in 1989 (see the link to the various issues of the Yearbook Project: https://www.karl-wohlmuth.de/african_development_perspectives_yearbook/ and: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/africa/africanyearbook.htm).

Bibliographic Information on the New Publications:

Wohlmuth, Karl, 2018, De-Industrialisierung, Reindustrialisierung und Beschäftigung. Elemente einer nationalen Beschäftigungsstrategie für Tunesien (Deindustrialization, Reindustrialization and Employment. Elements of a National Employment Strategy for Tunisia), Seiten 33-90, in: Zeitschrift "Berichte", 2018/II, 28. Jg., Nr. 213, ISSN 1022-3258, Thema des Heftes (Theme of the Issue of the Journal): Gegensätze - Westbalkan, Tunesien und Karl Marx, Berlin, Forschungsinstitut der Internationalen Wissenschaftlichen Vereinigung Weltwirtschaft und Weltpolitik (IWVWW) e. V.

African Development Perspectives Yearbook 2019, Volume 21, Theme: Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa – Human Skills Development and Country Cases, Edited by Achim Gutowski, Nazar Mohamed Hassan, Tobias Knedlik, Chantal Marie Ngo Tong and Karl Wohlmuth, LIT Publishers Wien-Zürich, 2019, with contributions on Tunisia in Unit 2: Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies for Economic Transformation in North Africa by: Nazar Mohamed Hassan and Karl Wohlmuth; Zouhour Karray and Wiem Ben Ghorbel Abed; Maximilian Benner; and by Mondher Khanfir and Sana Ayari-Riabi.

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12.02.2018
Alternative Economy and Social Justice: Workshop at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in Tunis

Professors Hans-Heinrich Bass, Robert  Kappel and Karl Wohlmuth were invited by the FES Tunis to speak at the workshop “Alternative Economy and Social Justice”, 14-15 September 2017, about the future of labour in the MENA region.  The focus on the first day was on Employment and Alternative Sectors: Green Economy, Digital Economy, as well as Social and Solidarity Economy. It was expected by the organizers that the experts give concrete recommendations and suggestions on the role of the civil society – more precisely the trade unions - in order to preserve labour rights and to warrant the sustainability of jobs within these new sectors of an alternative economy. The second day was reserved for a common meeting with the regional projects “Climate and Energy”, “For Socially Just Development” and the “Regional Trade Union Project”.

It was planned for the first day to have an expert debate on the subject of new opportunities and challenges of the transformation of the labour market in the context of the newly emerging three sectors in the MENA Region. In particular, the labour market implications of the Green Economy, the Digital Economy, and the Social and Solidarity Economy were discussed. The three German economists were invited because of their collaboration with the FES on a study to analyse the starting points for an employment strategy for Tunisia (see the PDF of the study: library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/13336.pdf, and for a download of the versions in German, Arabic, French and English languages see: https://www.fes.de/t3php/publ_int.php?&f_ABC=tunis&f_RSW=tunesien&logik=or&t_listen=x&sortierung=jab&t3titel=Tunesien). A short report about the meeting summarizes the main points of discussion (see the link: http://www.fes-mena.org/events/e/alternative-economy-and-employment/). The event was part of a larger programme of the FES for the MENA region (see on the programme “Economic Policies for Social Justice”: http://www.fes-mena.org/topics/economic-policies-for-social-justice/, and on the book as a final report with the title “Towards Socially Juist Development in the MENA Region”, to be accessed for download via PDF: library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/tunesien/13871.pdf).

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