News
Closing Africa’s research management capacity gap
Across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, institutions are increasingly able to attract research funding, but far fewer are equipped to manage it. One of the key challenges facing research systems across the continent is ensuring that effective governance, financial management, monitoring, and evaluation processes support funding mechanisms. Without these systems, research investments can struggle to achieve…
STISA 2034 Call: Health research stream
Africa has made significant progress in improving health outcomes over the past two decades. Yet the continent continues to face complex and interconnected health challenges, from infectious disease outbreaks and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases to the health impacts of climate change, rapid urbanisation and emerging public health emergencies. Addressing these challenges requires stronger…
Zambia’s research funding strengthens science and innovation
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Zambia has announced that more than K21.3 million has been disbursed through the National Research Fund between 2020 and 2026, supporting 30 research projects and the development of 45 students as part of the country’s efforts to strengthen scientific research, technological innovation and entrepreneurship. The announcement made…
STISA-2034: The impact of investing in African science
What does successful research funding look like? Across Africa, the answer can be found in healthier communities, cleaner water, improved food security, stronger research institutions, and new technologies that are solving problems once thought too complex for local innovation. These are the kinds of outcomes envisioned by the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa…
Five research streams, one continental vision: STISA-2034 overview
Africa’s most pressing challenges do not exist in isolation. Food security depends on climate resilience. Strong health systems rely on digital innovation. A just energy transition requires advances in technology, policy, and environmental sustainability. Recognising these connections, the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) Multilateral Research Call, aligned with the African Union’s Science, Technology and Innovation…
Why SGCI is supporting the STISA-2034 agenda
Africa’s future depends on its ability to generate knowledge, develop home-grown innovations, and translate research into solutions that improve lives. This is the vision of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2034), the African Union’s framework for using science, technology and innovation to drive sustainable development, economic growth and improved well-being across the…
Sierra Leone unveils home-grown academic services app
Sierra Leone’s drive to build a digitally enabled higher education system received a boost with the launch of a home-grown mobile and web application by the University of Sierra Leone’s Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), bringing a wide range of academic and administrative services together on a single digital platform for students and…
STISA 2034: Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa
Africa stands at a defining moment. The African Union’s Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2034 (STISA 2034) sets out a bold vision for socio-economic transformation through science, technology and innovation (STI), and Africa’s Science Granting Councils (SGCs), supported by the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), are central to turning that vision into action.…
Following the money: Tracking STI funding flows across Africa
Africa’s science, technology, and innovation (STI) landscape has long faced a fundamental challenge. While billions of dollars flow into research and innovation activities across the continent, there has been surprisingly little visibility into where the money comes from, where it goes, and who benefits. A new report, The State of STI in Africa: Funding Flows…
From survival to enterprise: Malawi’s fish farmers tell their story
When a cage aquaculture project was launched on Likoma Island, it promised more fish and better incomes. A year on, the people it was designed to help share what actually changed. Winnie Chizuwi did not think of herself as a fish farmer. As a single mother on Likoma Island, life was a daily struggle. She…