urged to consider setting aside more budget for innovation since the sector is crucial for addressing socioeconomic challenges facing the country.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tanzania Programme Specialist and Head of Inclusive Growth Pillar Ernest Salla said it was important for the government to increase the budget for innovation whenever possible to support various innovations taking place in the country.
Mr Salla said the country could not depend on donors alone to finance various innovations in the country, but it needed the contribution of other stakeholders to promote innovation in the country.
Mr Salla was speaking in Dar es Salaam this week during a workshop organised by Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) as part of the activities of this year’s Innovation Week with the theme “Innovate for Impact.”
He, however, said although the government would increase its budget, but the task could not be left alone to the government because it had got a number of things that needed to be addressed using the government budget.
“If you look at all sectors of the economy which need budget allocation it will be very unrealistic because even with the government’s good will it will not be able to meet all needs of innovation using its budget… there is a need for having a kind of collaborative approach and partnership in terms of making sure that the ecosystem is well resourced,” he said.
He said the government, the private sector and development partners should form a partnership that would enable them to address various needs of innovators in the country, “Some innovators do innovate for social impacts, while others innovate for business so their needs will be different… this calls for a programmatic kind of approach to bring together different stakeholders to consider their different needs which can be approached in a systematic way in a short, medium and long-term,” Mr Salla said.
He noted that basing on historical background, development partners had been involved in supporting innovation in the country, but to date the sector had reached a point where it needed to be supported by all partners due to different needs of innovators.
For his part, Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) Country Director, Joseph Manirakiza said innovation had brought many good things in the country.
“This is evident in the type of growth we have seen in sponsorship and partnership support for Innovation Week, where the government has increased investments in innovation and partnership. We are undertaking with Makisatu- the government’s innovation competition,” he said.
He said Innovation Week was crucial because it brought together innovators in Tanzania to learn from each other, showcase their innovations and connect with potential partners.
