Insights
Perspectives on research commercialisation, technology transfer, and the future of African university innovation.
Articles
African InnovationAn outsourced TTO model transforms commercialisation from a fixed cost into a strategic, variable investment.
Laryx Ochieng
29 June 2026
African InnovationFor too long, the continent has exported its crude intellectual ore: shipping brilliant research and minds offshore to be refined elsewhere.
Laryx Ochieng
14 June 2026
African InnovationUndervalued. Under-commercialised. Africa's most valuable resource is not in the ground to be mined. It is in our minds, to be realised.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
14 June 2026
African InnovationBrilliant lab-validated prototypes routinely stall before reaching clinical validation because they lack the structural readiness required by international VCs
Laryx Ochieng
8 June 2026
![The Un-Mined Wealth of Nations: Reclaiming Africa’s Real [AI]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F6g4x8t87%2Fproduction%2F9be8c55cbcddd38d038277b1ce5a5dcbc7246bf9-1920x1047.jpg%3Frect%3D30%2C0%2C1861%2C1047%26w%3D640%26h%3D360%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75)
Brain Drain & Brain GainEvery person who signs up to Maratto represents the real [AI]: Academic Intelligence. Africa's Intelligence.
Laryx Ochieng
1 June 2026
African InnovationThe true legacy of a transformative modern leader lies in a singular, deliberate choice: what the institution builds with its intellectual property.
Laryx Ochieng
24 May 2026
Intellectual PropertyFrom an IP perspective, public disclosure before filing a patent application destroys the "novelty" requirement, rendering the technology legally unprotectable.
Laryx Ochieng
17 May 2026
African InnovationWhile everyone funds Artificial Intelligence, Africa's universities hold a different kind of AI entirely. Academic Intelligence. Mostly under utilised. For now.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
16 May 2026
Technology TransferWe are constructing what will become the largest organized deal flow of African university spin-outs: IP-protected, equity-structured, and commercially ready.
Laryx Ochieng
10 May 2026
Research FundingMaintaining a full-scale, internal Technology Transfer Office (TTO) carries significant fixed overheads.
Laryx Ochieng
5 May 2026
Entrepreneurship & Spin-outsCommunity-led growth is a business strategy, not a marketing activity. It means deliberately designing community experiences that move through your funnel.
Laryx Ochieng
21 April 2026
Higher Education in AfricaAfrican universities must move from knowledge production to real world innovation, turning research into impactful solutions, startups, and technologies.
Patience Karua
15 April 2026
African InnovationThe venture pipeline hiding inside Africa’s universities - and what it will take to unlock it.
Laryx Ochieng
11 April 2026
Research CommercialisationWhy Africa's Innovation Story Is One of Intelligence, Intent, and International Connection And All of Them Lead to The Commercial Gain.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
7 April 2026
African InnovationThe innovation energy is already there. What African universities are missing is the infrastructure to turn it into something that lasts.
Laryx Ochieng
27 March 2026
Research FundingThe universities that will survive and thrive in this environment are not the ones that simply update their syllabi to include AI modules.
Laryx Ochieng
12 March 2026
Research CommercialisationAfrica has 1,460+ universities but produces just 3.5% of global research output. The problem isn't talent. It's the plumbing.
Sidney Essendi
9 March 2026
Science & Technology PolicyAfrica has the innovation policies. What it lacks is the execution layer to commercialise university research. The builder class is almost entirely absent.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
7 March 2026
Technology TransferThere is a quiet crisis playing out across African university campuses. Not a crisis of intellect. Not a crisis of ambition.
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
24 February 2026
