Policy Dialogue on the Role of IP for Economic, Social and Cultural Development: Innovation, IP and Value Addition for Business Competitiveness in Africa - Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Forum on the “Critical Role of Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation for Youth Entrepreneurship and Start-ups”
May 16, 2022
The WIPO organized a policy dialogue targeting young entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Rwanda, the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), the Office of the Special Adviser Africa (OSAA), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), with the financial support of the Japan Patent Office on the 25th and 26th of April 2022. With a view to obtaining concrete outcomes from the policy dialogue in a virtual format, a medium to long-term project as a follow-up to this Policy Dialogue was proposed by WIPO and the participants welcomed this proposal.
The objective of this Policy Dialogue and the proposed follow-up project was to raise awareness about IP management for Startups, giving young entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn how to leverage the global IP system to bring their businesses to scale in order to compete in global markets.
The welcoming and introductory remarks were delivered by partner institutions, represented by;
- Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Cabinet Member,
- Fortunate Muyambi, the Executive Secretary of the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO),
- Bemanya Twebaze, the Director General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO),
- Denis L. Bohoussou, the Director General of the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI),
- Futoshi Yasuda, the Director General of the Patent and Design Examination Department of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and
- Cristina Duarte, the Under-Secretary-General of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA).
This Policy Dialogue Forum was not meant to be a single event, but a starting point of a medium to long-term project, intended to provide necessary support to Young entrepreneurs and Startups. With the policy makers’ endorsement, a follow-up project consisting of establishing an IP platform for African startups followed by an interactive and immersive activity through business mentoring and coaching by IP experts was proposed by WIPO, and the participants for the Policy Dialogue welcomed this proposal.
The Forum also provided learning and business networking opportunities for the young African entrepreneurs to expand their networks and share their own experiences and learn from each other. The Regional Forum attracted enormous interest amongst Startups, a total number of more than 900 registered to participate from 43 different countries. A total of approximately 350 participants attended the planned 2 days’ workshop.