IP system to unlock Africa citizens’ creativity, innovation

ITRealms:

African leaders and about  50 government ministers from across the continent that attended November 3 2015, African Ministerial Conference on Intellectual Property (IP) for an Emerging Africa” have concurred that such initiative will unlock  citizens’ creativity and innovation, ITRealms reports.

 
The Conference which was held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, saw Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Senegal Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne join World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General, Francis Gurry in stressing the importance of intellectual property (IP) in incentivizing innovation and creativity to promote economic and social development across Africa, ITRealms gathered.

“Ultimately, the source of all innovation and creativity is human. And Africa is the cradle of humanity, so it is in this sense the origin of all innovation and creativity that characterizes our species as human beings. Well-developed national intellectual property systems can help African countries unlock their citizens’ creativity and innovation, boosting economic growth, he said,” said Gurry in welcoming the delegates.

“Intellectual property is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition of a healthy and vibrant innovation ecosystem. It is a means of capturing a competitive advantage that is conferred by innovation and it is a means of rewarding investment, human and financial resources, in the generation of new knowledge and innovation,” Gurry stated.

ITRealms also reports that Mauritius President, Gurib-Fakim cited positive economic growth prospects for African countries over the next decade and highlighted the “imperative need for Africa to protect IP rights in order to build sustainable knowledge economies by leveraging the benefits of science, technology and innovation.”

“In this globally fiercely competitive international economic landscape, the creation and management including protection of knowledge will be central to building and spearheading wealth creation and integration in the global economy,” said Gurib-Fakim.

Senegalese Prime Minister Dionne, on his part, ITRealms learnt, called the conference timely, due to the challenges facing Africa. He added that intellectual property can help ensure sustainable and inclusive development resulting in poverty reduction and increased economic competitiveness. “Innovation is the basis of all development,” he said.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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IiP endorsement, another impetus for MTN – Goodluck

The Corporate Services Executive (CSE) of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck has described the recent endorsement by the United Kingdom-based Investor in People (IiP) is another impetus for MTN.

Reacting to the IiP award, Goodluck told ITRealms that MTN is delighted to receive this recognition.

“It is the highest accolade in people management practices from an independent and internationally recognised body. It has given us additional impetus and determination to continue to deploy best practice people solutions for the benefit of the organisation and all our stakeholders,” he said.

Also speaking, a registered specialist of Investors in People International and a member of the team that carried out the assessment, Ken Baylis said, “MTN is a great example of a company using Investors in People to improve business performance. They have worked hard to improve people management and talent development.”

Equally, ITRealms gathered that the initiative received an endorsement from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), UK. 

According to CIPD executive, Mr. Richard Braybrooke this was one of the most comprehensive in depth approaches to career management ever seen.

CIPD, he said, believes this is the missing ingredient in making a comprehensive talent management approach successful.

Many organisations, Braybrooke noted, are keen to win the competitive war for talent get the organisational systems in place, only to forget the individual's contribution in jointly recognising their career aspirations.

“We are sure that MTNN, who are currently training all their managers and employees in effective career management, will see a marked positive effect on their business bottom line by retaining and developing their talented employees," Braybrooke said.

ITRealms further gathered that MTN’s talent development creed has been demonstrated over the years in the number of Nigerians who have been appointed to strategic positions across various MTN operations.

Karl Toriola was appointed CEO of MTN Cameroun in 2011 and only recently, Mike Ikpoki became the first Nigerian CEO of MTN Nigeria having served as CEO of MTN Ghana for two years.

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