Background
Patents are vital for encouraging innovation in green technology development and transfer, securing exclusivity, attracting investment, and enhancing licensing capabilities, yet awareness and utilisation of patents in Africa are low. Patent applications from Africa have increased by just 0. 1 per cent since 2014, while regions like Asia experienced nearly 10 per cent growth over the same period.
Many of Ghana's green start-ups face low IP awareness, high filing costs, legal and procedural hurdles, insufficient advisory support, and uncertain pathways to commercialisation. Although firms in Ghana can access protection through state agencies, the system is challenging for many early- stage businesses to navigate, discouraging them from pursuing patents. This reveals a structural gap between Ghana's ambitions for green enterprises and its capacity to generate and protect proprietary innovations.
The Event
Against this background, the APRI-Africa Policy Research Institute, through its Just Green Technology Transition Programme, in partnership with the Strategic Youth Network for Development and the Ghana Climate and Innovation Centre, are organising a webinar to deepen practical understanding of IP issues, identify ecosystem bottlenecks and generate pragmatic policy and institutional responses that strengthen green innovation in Ghana.
Speakers
Eunice Adu Boahen
Panelist
Head of the IP and Technology Transfer Unit, KNUST.
Nabeel Adum-Atta
Panelist
Director for Partnerships, Entrepreneurship, and Investment, GCIC
Moderation
Dr. Serwah Prempeh
Speaker
Senior Fellow and Head of Just Green Technology Transition Program, APRI
