Innovation

Incubating and scaling solutions

RAN supports the development, testing, improvement and scaling of innovations that respond to challenges facing African communities and countries.

300+innovations incubated through RAN’s university-led innovation ecosystem

How we innovate

Our innovation work uses and leverages, among others, human-centred design, co-creation workshops, systems thinking, technology development and collaboration among researchers, entrepreneurs, universities, communities and other stakeholders.

Human-centred design
Co-creation workshops
Systems thinking
Technology development
Multi-stakeholder collaboration

From need to impact

The innovation journey

We support innovators to identify needs, develop ideas, test prototypes and explore ways to put promising solutions into wider use.

Step 1
Identify needs
Needs assessment to understand the challenge
Step 2
Develop ideas
Shaping ideas into potential solutions
Step 3
Test prototypes
Testing, improving and refining solutions
Step 4
Wider use
Putting promising solutions into wider use

Our innovation portfolio

Five ways we back innovators

Select an area to see how we support it.

Innovation development and incubation

Supporting innovators to develop, test and refine solutions. Through its university-led innovation ecosystem, RAN has supported the incubation of more than 300 innovations.

Technology and product development

Supporting solutions in healthcare, climate resilience, agriculture, energy, connectivity and disaster preparedness.

Human-centred design

Applying participatory design approaches so that innovations respond to the needs and circumstances of intended users.

Innovation ecosystem strengthening

Building the capacity of universities, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovation support organisations.

Scaling and sustainability

Helping promising innovations identify pathways for adoption, partnerships, investment and wider application.

From our ecosystem

Innovations we have supported

Examples of innovations supported through RAN’s ecosystem include the EpiTent for Ebola treatment, mobile-based early warning systems and off-grid electric refrigeration solutions, among many others.