Tanzania climbs 27 places up global innovation index

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has risen to position 96 from 123 in the 2017 Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking released on Saturday, making the country among those in the low income countries in the sub -Saharan African countries that have improved most.

This was said yesterday by the Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) Team Leader David McGinty during a press conference in which Round 3 of Innovators Platform was launched.

In the launch the United Kingdom government through HDIF extended Sh28 billion for innovative implementation in projects of early childhood development and sanitation across the country.

Mr McGinty said the achievement has been contributed by the growing strength of innovation institutions in Tanzania like Sahara Sparks, Max Malipo and others.

“Other factors include increased research and the use of technology in various socio-economic aspects of development as witnessed in the increased innovations among young people,” he added.

GII is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity and success in innovation. It is published by Cornell University in New York aiming at capturing the multi-dimensional facets of innovation and provides the tools that can assist in tailoring policies to promote long-term output growth, improved productivity, and job growth in technology.

In 2017 GII has encompassed 127 economies, representing 92.5 per cent of the world’s population and 97.6 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).