Challenges

The AU Agenda 2063 recognizes Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as multi-functional tools and an enablers for achieving continental development goals. For a long time, STI has been an important factor restricting the economic and social development of Africa. Since the 1960s, African countries have been making unremitting efforts to develop technology, but the development of technology in Africa has still faced some fundamental problems, such as insufficient funding for STI, inadequate infrastructure to support innovation, limited expertise on STI policy making, and brain drain etc.

Africa is the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries, and China is the largest developing country in the world. China and Africa have long formed a community of shared destiny. In recent years, STI cooperation is becoming a new highlight in the development of China-Africa relations. The missions of China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Center (CAICC) are to integrate China’s innovative elements and resourses to facilitate Africa’s innovation, youth entrepreneurship, capacity building, and human-to-human exchanges with China. The ultimate goal is to support economic and social development of African countries under the South-South cooperation framework.

Toward a Solution

China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Center (CAICC) was jointly established by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Hubei Provincial People’s Government in 2020. During five years’ development, CAICC has contributed to many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG17 (partnerships for the goals), SDG4 (quality education), and SDG9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) through a package of measures like creating wide cooperation network covering both China and Africa, organizing brand activities every year, and customize technical training according to needs etc.

As of April 2025, CAICC’s cooperation network include:

• Two joint innovation working groups with South Africa and Algeria recognized by bilateral governments
• Six branch centers in Africa focusing on different fields

1. South Africa: Optic fiber and cable manufacture
2. Kenya: Biodiversity protection and sustainable utilization
3. Ethiopia: Modern pharmaceutical
4. Senegal: Water resources and electricity project planning and design
5. Mozambique: Agricultural technology
6. Algeria: Smart digital communication technology

• Over 130 cooperation network members including organizations from China, South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Sudan, Rwanda, Algeria, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The innovation in the network lies in its wide coverage on governments, universities, research institutions, enterprises no matter whether they are private or public. Through knowledge and resourses sharing, searching for potential partners, organizing seminars and matchmaking activities among network members, CAICC’s cooperation network has greatly contributed to the technological cooperation and exchanges between China and African countries, thus promoting SDG17 (partnerships for the goals).

Each year, CAICC would organize such brand activities as China-Africa Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum and China-Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Through the events, partners from China and Africa can exchange with each other and seek potential cooperation.

• China-Africa Innovation Cooperation and Development Forum

Hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Hubei Provincial People’s Government, forums include opening ceremony, keynote forum, and over 40 parallel sessions covering fields like modern agriculture, information technology, green development, education, and healthcare etc. More than 2300 delegates from governments, universities, research institutions, enterprises from over 40 African countries and China participated in the events. There were 47 cooperation projects signing at the platform of the forums, some of which are good examples of South-South and triangular cooperation. Forums led to the signing of the following cooperation agreements (to name just a few):

1. Traditional medicine joint laboratory between Huazhong Agricultural University and Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia
2. China-Mozambique Land Rice Sesame Joint Demonstration and Promotion
3. Research on China-Egypt Advanced Energy Storage Technology Cooperation
4. Research on Remote Sensing and Sustainable Development of Urban Environment in China and Tanzania
5. Tripartite Agreement on Demonstration and Promotion of Soybean Breeding and Cultivation Techniques in Zambia

• China-Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

Three competitions have been organized since 2022. The competitions have attracted 287 projects from 4 tracks (digital economy, circular economy, modern agriculture, healthcare) and more than 500 participants from China and 28 African countries. In 2023, the competition was listed in the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development. It is aimed to further stimulate the innovation and entrepreneurship vitality of young people in China and Africa, broaden the space for innovation and entrepreneurship cooperation, and create a platform for youth exchange and cooperation between China and Africa.

Moreover, CAICC has attached great importance to technical training and capacity building based on real needs of African countries. CAICC has organized and supported the training on vegetable planting, mineral resource survey, drought, desertification and climate change adaptation, and clean energy. A total of 870 trainees from Mozambique, Angola, Algeria, Egypt, Rwanda, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Morocco have participate in the training, which contributed to SDG4 (quality education) and SDG9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure).

CAICC has joined China South-South Cooperation Network in 2022 and successfully applied for the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) in 2023. Looking forward, CAICC will continue to promote and implement south-south and triangular cooperation in STI, youth entrepreneurship, capacity building, and human-to-human exchanges between China and Africa, by encouraging more organizations from both China and Africa to join in, strengthening partnerships, and organizing activities through which different shareholders can share resources, knowledge, and development opportunities.