Make in Africa Knowledge Co-Creation Programmes

Building African Skills Through International Partnership

Africa has the young people, the resources and a single continental market. What it needs is the skills, research and technology to turn them into finished goods. Make in Africa Knowledge Co-Creation Programmes bring African institutions together with universities and firms in partner countries, on fair terms, so that knowledge is built here and stays here. Partners that gained from past extraction now have good reason to help repair that balance through teaching, research and shared technology.

Make in Africa Knowledge Co-Creation Programmes

These programmes are research, training and technology partnerships. African universities, technical colleges, research centres and firms work side by side with their counterparts in partner countries. The aim is shared work, not one-way aid: joint curricula, joint research, and technology and licence sharing that lets African makers produce at home what the continent now imports. We facilitate introductions and guide partners. We do not run the institutions involved.

Teacher and Trainer Development

Partner institutions can host African lecturers and technical trainers, and send experts to teach in Africa. Stronger trainers mean stronger graduates for factories, workshops and processing plants across the continent.

Joint Research

Universities in Africa and partner countries can run shared research on local materials, processing methods and products, so that discoveries are patented, licensed and used in Africa.

Technology Transfer

Licence and technology sharing, on fair terms, lets African firms adopt proven methods and adapt them to local conditions, instead of buying finished goods made elsewhere.

Research Partnerships with Universities

Research is where value begins. Partner universities hold equipment, funding and experience that most African institutions have lacked the means to build. Through shared programmes we ask for the following:

Shared Laboratories and Equipment: Access to modern facilities, with African researchers as full partners and co-owners of results, not junior contributors.
Researcher Exchange: Funded exchanges so African scientists and engineers can work abroad and return, and partner researchers can work in Africa.
Open and Fair Intellectual Property: Clear terms that keep a fair share of rights, and the benefits from them, in Africa.

Training with Industry Partners

Training works best when it is tied to real jobs. Partner firms can work with African colleges and employers on practical, workplace-based programmes that suit local industry:

Technical and Vocational Training

Partner colleges and firms can help African institutions design courses that combine classroom learning with hands-on practice, so graduates leave ready for work in manufacturing and processing.

Apprenticeships

Firms in partner countries can offer apprenticeships and placements, and support African employers to build their own, helping to close the skills gap for young makers.

Engineering and Technical Skills

Support for engineering, design, maintenance and quality skills helps build a workforce for sectors such as mineral processing, agro-processing, machinery and pharmaceuticals.

Technology Partnerships with Firms

Technology moves fastest between firms that trust each other. Fair technology partnerships can help African producers move up the value chain. Key elements include:

Licence and Technology Sharing: Partner firms license production methods and designs on terms that let African companies build, repair and improve them locally.
Local Content and Supply Links: Joint ventures that source from African suppliers and train African staff, so that more of the value stays in the countries where goods are made.
Standards and Quality Support: Help for African firms to meet export standards, and a fair hearing for African standards in partner markets, so that rules do not punish value addition.

Capacity Building for Institutions

Strong institutions make partnerships last. Support for management, research administration and quality systems can help African institutions run programmes well and report openly on results:

Research Management

Help with grant management, laboratory practice and research administration lets African institutions manage large projects and hold partners to account.

Curriculum Development

Working with industry and partner universities, African institutions can update courses so that what is taught matches what African employers and makers need.

Community and Employer Involvement

Programmes work best when employers, local communities and young makers help shape them. We encourage partners to consult widely and to publish what they deliver.

Regional Collaboration Across Africa

Partnerships should link African institutions to each other, not only to partners abroad. The same programmes can support the continental market and regional value chains:

Regional Centres of Expertise: Institutions across ECOWAS, SADC, EAC and COMESA can share facilities and specialise, instead of duplicating effort.
Mutual Recognition of Qualifications: Training that is recognised across borders lets skilled people work where they are needed within the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Shared Standards: Common technical standards help African goods move freely and compete fairly.

Why These Partnerships Matter

Africa mostly ships raw materials out and buys finished goods in. Changing that takes skills, research and technology, and those are where the world’s richer economies can give back most. By building Knowledge Co-Creation Programmes on fair terms, partner countries help put value back where it was taken from. Africa owes itself discipline in return: honest standards, steady delivery and open reporting. Make in Africa will keep score and publish who delivers.

Take Part in the Programmes

Universities, research centres, training colleges and firms in Africa and partner countries are invited to join. Tell us what you can offer or need, and we will make introductions and guide you to the right partners.

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About

The Make In Africa Global Summit (MIAGS) is a global platform connecting leaders, businesses, investors, institutions and policymakers shaping the next era of economic growth across the Global South and Africa.

MIAGS advances South–South cooperation, trade, investment, industrialization, technology, infrastructure and economic resilience, creating platforms for dialogue, strategic partnerships and cross-border opportunities.

Our mission is to strengthen the Global South and Africa’s role in the global economy by connecting capital with opportunity, innovation with markets and economic priorities with action—while fostering a more connected, productive and influential economic future.

Make in Africa Knowledge Co-Creation Programmes

Building African Skills Through International Partnership