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The Vice-Chancellors Defining the Future of African University Innovation
Insights
Thought Leadership from Africa's Innovation Ecosystem
Perspectives on research commercialisation, technology transfer, and the future of African university innovation.
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University Commercialisation Series by MARATTO™
Two flagship series. 12 episodes each. The leaders and practitioners shaping how African universities commercialise their research.
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UNICOM In Conversation With
Senior Voices Shaping How Africa Commercialises Its Research
Fortnightly · By Country
UNICOM Country
The commercial engine inside each African country's universities. One episode every two weeks, one country at a time.
Articles
Latest from MARATTO™ Insights
Intellectual PropertyThe Wealth of Ideas: Why African Universities Must Sovereignly Claim Their Intellectual Capital
From an IP perspective, public disclosure before filing a patent application destroys the "novelty" requirement, rendering the technology legally unprotectable.
11
Laryx Ochieng
17 May 2026
African InnovationIntelligence that isn't Artificial
While everyone funds Artificial Intelligence, Africa's universities hold a different kind of AI entirely. Academic Intelligence. Mostly under utilised. For now.
33
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
16 May 2026
Technology TransferBeyond the Grant: Building Africa’s Largest Pipeline of Commercially Ready University Spin-outs
We are constructing what will become the largest organized deal flow of African university spin-outs: IP-protected, equity-structured, and commercially ready.
11
Laryx Ochieng
10 May 2026
Research FundingAgility Over Overhead: Transforming Dormant Research into Market-Ready Assets
Maintaining a full-scale, internal Technology Transfer Office (TTO) carries significant fixed overheads.
00
Laryx Ochieng
5 May 2026
Entrepreneurship & Spin-outsCommunity is a Growth Engine. Most Startups are Treating it Like a Newsletter.
Community-led growth is a business strategy, not a marketing activity. It means deliberately designing community experiences that move through your funnel.
00
Laryx Ochieng
21 April 2026
Higher Education in AfricaFrom Knowledge to Impact: Reimagining Innovation in African Universities
African universities must move from knowledge production to real world innovation, turning research into impactful solutions, startups, and technologies.
23
Patience Karua
15 April 2026
African InnovationWhy Africa’s Best Deal Flow Has Never Seen a Cap Table
The venture pipeline hiding inside Africa’s universities - and what it will take to unlock it.
00
Laryx Ochieng
11 April 2026
Research CommercialisationThe Three Gains
Why Africa's Innovation Story Is One of Intelligence, Intent, and International Connection And All of Them Lead to The Commercial Gain.
22
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
7 April 2026
African InnovationFrom 18 Projects to 46. One University Just Showed the Rest of Africa What’s Possible.
The innovation energy is already there. What African universities are missing is the infrastructure to turn it into something that lasts.
11
Laryx Ochieng
27 March 2026
Research FundingAfrican Universities Are Sitting on a Gold Mine. Most Don’t Know It Yet.
The universities that will survive and thrive in this environment are not the ones that simply update their syllabi to include AI modules.
22
Laryx Ochieng
12 March 2026
Research CommercialisationAfrica Is Not Behind on Talent. It Is Behind on Commercialisation.
Africa has 1,460+ universities but produces just 3.5% of global research output. The problem isn't talent. It's the plumbing.
43
Sidney Essendi
9 March 2026
Science & Technology PolicyAfrica Doesn't Have a Policy Problem. It Has an Execution Problem.
Africa has the innovation policies. What it lacks is the execution layer to commercialise university research. The builder class is almost entirely absent.
42
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
7 March 2026
Technology TransferIt Takes a Village, and a Transfer Office
There is a quiet crisis playing out across African university campuses. Not a crisis of intellect. Not a crisis of ambition.
43
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
24 February 2026