WIPO Academic Institutions Programme

WIPO Academic Institutions Programme

Challenge Intellectual property (IP) rights establish a secure legal framework for investment in and the commercialization of innovation and creativity, enabling firms, including innovative start-ups, to navigate the perilous process of transforming an idea into a...
African Risk Capacity

African Risk Capacity

Challenge Over the last four decades, sub-Saharan Africa has experienced more than 1,000 disasters. They are a major threat to development, putting recent economic development gains at risk. Africa’s disaster profile is characterized by extreme...
Songhai Centres

Songhai Centres

Challenge Africa’s population is forecast to double by 2050. Meanwhile, the continent’s average cereal yields have shown little improvement since the 1960s in contrast to steep rises in productivity throughout much of Asia. Over the same period, Africa has...
Coalition for African Rice Development

Coalition for African Rice Development

Challenge It is estimated that some 388.8 million people in sub-Saharan Africa or 42.7 per cent of its total populations live on less than $1.90 a day. The region’s population growth rate continues to exceed the growth rate of regional food production, a...
Coalition for African Rice Development

New Rice for Africa (NERICA)

Challenge Although rice is a staple food for people in West Africa, most of it is imported. FAO estimated in 2006 that rice imports to the West and Central Africa subregions had reached more than 6 million tonnes, costing over $1 billion. The cost of importing rice is...