Transfer Of Technology;Urgent Need!

Since the advent of technological innovation,there have been incessant calls by various stakeholders for the transfer of technology to Cameroon and the entire African continent. This is because Cameroon requires technology transfer inorder to bridge the massive innovation gap with developed nations, drive industrialization, and createsustainable jobs. By acquiring foreign innovationsand adapting them locally, Cameroon can build self-reliance, boost economic diversification, and solveurgent regional challenges like climate change andfood security. It is no more a secret that, for severaldecades now, technology has helped transform manyeconomies around the globe, but Cameroon is stilllagging to withstand structural changes and benefitfrom the rapid structural transformation. Technologytransfer, perceived as a public policy objective totransform scientific inventions into better outcomes,can be greatly beneficial for the development of Cameroon’s economy. The urgent need for technologytransfer is driven by the quest to move beyondmerely consuming foreign goods to actually producingthem. Technology transfer would allow Cameroon’seconomy to localize manufacturing, scale up localagriculture, and create millions of jobs for her fast-growing, young labour market. While aid from developed countries can still be welcomed, especially when it is a win-win or not tied tostrings, transferring industrial know-how and digitalinfrastructure would quickly attract the building ofa co-sovereignty with global partners, establish trueeconomic resilience and reduce reliance on importedtechnologies. With local demand readily available,implementing specialized technology for healthcare,climate resilience, and renewable energy that woulddirectly sustain government efforts is a priority.Though these would require time and advanced manufacturing, the acquisition of these technologicaltools would help diversify economies, make domesticbusinesses globally competitive, and improve livingstandards. With relatively lower levels of technology transfersin Cameroon due to lower investments in human capital and infrastructural development, bringing inand adapting established international technologieswould help Cameroon bypass decades of developmenttrial-and-error and fast-track their progress. Thesebenefits can, however, be maximized, if policymakersincreasingly push for partnerships focused on vocational training, impact licensing, and the strengtheningof local institutional frameworks. With these in place,the issue will no longer be about importation of finished foreign products, but building localized ownership, and intellectual property rights. Adopting renewable energy technologies, climatemodels, and clean supply chains is imperative formitigating climate impacts. Cameroon’s rich reservesof critical minerals can underpin this green industrialization. Boosting technologies like telemedicine,medical drones, and agricultural productivity mightgo a long way to reshape food supply. Partnershipsbetween educational institutions, global organizations,and private tech companies aimed at fostering thedigital skills of Cameroonians should be given prideof place as this can gradually help in shifting awayfrom aid-dependent models toward localized industrialknow-how, technology licensing, and joint venturesthat are increasingly viewed by most African countriesas the most sustainable path towards the said goals. It is therefore crystal clear that Cameroon needstechnology transfer, investment and industrial cooperation from her partners rather than aid-basedties. A real partnership based on mutual respectand win-win cooperation is what Cameroon needsand not invitation letters for summits, seminars orworkshops that do no...