All innovation systems have elements, components, parts with linkages, interconnections and interactions with boundaries at spatial, sectoral, or disciplinary levels. The elements are related to innovation creation, absorption, transfer and adaptation being either strong or weak with boundaries that range spatially from local to city, community, region, national and global levels. Innovation systems at national or sectoral level are influenced by conceptual frame and ideas, policy setting, context and environment, institutions, networks, actors, knowledge and incentives. The way the politics of system building plays out heavily influences the outputs, outcomes and impacts at various levels selected to locate the innovation system dynamics. Franco Malerba considers sectoral systems to be based on knowledge and technologies, actors, networks, and institutions.

 
The complexity and dynamics of innovation at the sectoral level in the African context are not researched fully yet. This book is one of the few works focusing on the sectoral system framework for innovation and development in Africa. A number of sectoral systems are identified and discussed.
 
The analysis of each sector by identifying the key components that involve a specific knowledge base, actors and networks, institutions, technologies, inputs, demand, and organizations at various levels of aggregation provides how transformation and development can unfold. This book presents cases from different sectors across different countries in Africa including the agro-industry, creative industry, and oil and gas. It makes one of the original critical contributions to the knowledge and understanding of the Sectoral Innovation Systems in Africa.
 
“An excellent piece of scholarship that will go a long way in guiding intelligent discussions on the role of sectoral systems of innovation in Africa's economic transformation”.
--Professor Calestous Juma, Harvard Kennedy School, Boston, USA
 
“Africa's future lies not so much in its capacity to meet existing competitive challenges but to develop the dynamic capabilities to sustain upgrading over time. This is a largely unacknowledged and neglected policy agenda and this valuable and pioneering volume begins to fill the knowledge gap in the area of sectoral systems of innovation in Africa.  A "Must Read" for both researchers and policymakers”.
--Professor Raphael Kaplinsky, Professor of International Development, The Open University, UK
 
“Innovation has risen as a key word for development agenda for the latecomer countries. This book is a rare collection of most up-to-dated researches that apply this concept to economic development in Africa in the context of sectoral systems of innovation”.
--Professor Keun Lee, Seoul University, Director of the Economic Catch-Up Centre, South Korea

“Sectoral Innovation Systems in Africa is the seminal research work in an era of economic transformation through innovation.  It is the product of commitment and creative scholarship and it provides critical insights into different sectors across different countries in Africa. This book will be the starting point for generating discussion and debate on building efficient sectoral innovation system in Africa”.
--Professor Lakhwinder Singh, Centre for Development Economics and Innovation Studies (CDEIS), Punjabi University, India