What policies are in place to promote export-oriented innovation hubs and clusters?
Here are some policies that promote export-oriented innovation hubs and clusters in Nigeria ¹:
- The Nigeria Innovation Cluster Mapping Project: This project was created to identify and develop hubs that can drive close-knit, integrated industrial growth in resource and talent-rich cities across the country.
- The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF): This program was created to fund Science & Technology (S&T) innovation clusters that can drive economic growth.
- The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited: This company created the Nigerian prize for science, which aims to promote innovation and science in Nigeria.
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): This bank, along with other banks and venture capitalists, funds SMEs to help promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
- The government of Nigeria has also promised to pay attention to exploiting solid minerals, which can help promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Here are some policies that are in place to promote export-oriented innovation hubs and clusters
Clusters can’t be created out of nothing and cluster initiatives should only be attempted where clusters already exist.
Cluster strategies or policy interventions when attempted should be grounded in rigorous empirical information and analysis so that decisionmakers can make objective assessments about the nature, competitive prospects, and specific needs of different regional industry concentrations.
Focus cluster initiatives on clusters where there is objectively measured evidence of under-capacity.
Specific, targeted cluster-oriented initiatives are clearly justifiable, but equal value and added impact may well come from drawing other, more generally relevant programs into the cluster orbit.
The cluster paradigm can—and should—be used to organize the disconnected policy offerings of any one level of government in service of clusters’ needs in a region, but it also provides a framework for coordinating them up and down the tiers of federalism to avoid policy conflict, redundancy, or missed opportunities for synergy.