Technology development and knowledge spillover in Africa: evidence using patent and citation data

Technology and innovation are influenced by globalisation, and they are important in developing new products and services, as well as doing things more efficiently or more effectively to achieve sustainable development (Ahmed, 2007). Knowledge spillover can be beneficial to technological innovation because the entity can take advantage of both intranational and international knowledge to strengthen its technological capability. This study investigates two main issues related to technology development and knowledge spillover in Africa. First, this study investigates aggregative technological innovation capability in Africa and compares technological capabilities among different countries; it also compares the relative innovation strengths of Africa in 31 technological fields. Second, this study demonstrates the sources of knowledge for technological innovation in Africa; moreover, it manifests the different types of knowledge spillovers that examine the effects on technological innovation capability based on the geographical distance and technological distance in Africa.