AJSTID is a multi-disciplinary and refereed international journal on science, technology, innovation and development in Africa and other low-income countries. It was established in appreciation of the role and importance of innovation in the development processes and the recognition of the relative absence of research in this area in Africa. AJSTID encourages research along the following broad areas: a) The role of science, technology and innovation in the processes of industrial growth and development. b) The emergence and the making of innovation systems in the context of broader socio-economic development. c) Exploring the inclusion of innovation and knowledge in sub-national, regional, global and local innovation networks and cross border integration processes in Africa. d) Research on the interaction among governments, industries, businesses, universities and communities in the use and application of science, technology and innovation policies. e) Critiques of science, technology and innovation policies and their applications in Africa. f) Exploring core-evolutions, broad-based innovations and indigenous knowledge systems in the context of African development.

Information, knowledge, and technology occupy significant space in the information and knowledge society and ongoing debates on development such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda 2030 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Disruptive technologies and cyber-physical systems, obscuring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, present a ‘new normal’ that profoundly affects the nature and magnitude of responses required to sustain and benefit from the new developments. Africa, known for its late adoption of new technologies and innovations, is leapfrogging development stages in several enviable ways. This book, Information knowledge and technology for development in Africa’, written by eminent African scholars, comprises chapters that satisfactorily address information access, artificial intelligence, information ethics, e-learning, library and information science education (LISE) in the 4IR, data literacy and e-scholarship, and knowledge management, which are increasingly essential for information access, services, and LISE in Africa. We expect the book to support research, teaching and learning in African higher education and worldwide for comparative scholarship.

This book examines the landscape of sustained investment in research and innovation in Africa, which are critical for development. This cutting-edge analysis is based on empirical evidence and the author’s experience in managing health and related innovations on the continent and globally. It concludes, for the first time, that African innovation is largely driven by the principles of Social, rather than Technological innovation. The significance of this finding and the need to optimize, scale and sustain this dominant innovation is addressed in various chapters that analyze the status, challenges and opportunities. Particularly, the financing, collaboration and coordination patterns for these activities on the continent show a fragmented ecosystem that is largely dependent on external donors and aid. The importance of supportive policies, leadership and venture mechanisms that incentivizes public and private entities to innovate is further exemplified by the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book proposes mechanism to address identified challenges.