According to the World Intellectual Property Organization 2019 Global Innovation Index, Switzerland retains the first position with Sweden and the United States of America in second and third positions respectively. The Global Innovation Index ranks countries based on business sophistication, human capital, research and development infrastructure, market sophistication and creative output.
Switzerland is the world’s most innovative country followed by Sweden, the United States of America (U.S.), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (U.K.), according to the GII 2019.
The Swiss economy has a GDP of $659.9 billion with a per capita income of $79,242. Its watchmaking industry leads the global market share with over $5billion worth of exports from Patek Philippe, Omega, Tag Heur, Rolex, etc while in the consumer goods industry its Nestle is the most innovative along with Roche in medicine biotechnology industry with both filing more than 100 patents annually.
STMicroelectronics, another Swiss giant, is among the most innovative and market leaders in the global semiconductors and microelectronics industries. In human capital and R&D infrastructure, ETH Zurich and ETP Lausanne provide talent and innovative solutions which have made Swiss industries stand out as leaders in comparison with their peers across the globe.
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Nigeria ranked 114th in the Innovation index as a result of nonchalant attitude by the government towards funding Research and Development for national development, absence of research talent to birth breakthrough solutions and non utilization of research funds by tertiary institutions.
As seen with the Swiss case study, Nigeria’s economic champions like Dangote Group and Globacom should invest a significant amount of their profits in Research and Development to produce innovative products which will make them the unrivaled category kings.
By focusing on funding Research and Development to deepen the capabilities of sectors where Nigeria has comparative competitive advantage like Ethnomedicine which can generate $12 billion per annum, Leather, Cocoa, Oil Palm, Marijuana which can be used in jute bag manufacturing for industrial packaging, Combating Cancer and other medical ailments, Construction of Green Buildings etc, the nation can rise along the ranks to be recognized as among the world’s most Innovative economies with cumulative export earnings which will surpass our hydrocarbons revenues.
