A bold new €60.9 million partnership is set to awaken Africa’s untapped innovation potential by turning dormant patents into thriving commercial ventures across 17 countries by 2030, a move that could redefine the continent’s economic future.

In a landmark agreement signed this week, the African Organization for Intellectual Property (OAPI) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) launched a transformative initiative to finance and commercialize 1,000 patented innovations by the end of the decade. 

With support mechanisms that blend capital, risk guarantees, and technical expertise, the initiative aims to unlock the commercial power of African creativity, long overshadowed by systemic funding gaps.

At the heart of the plan is a dual-approach mechanism: OAPI’s €7.62 million capital injection into AGF and a loan guarantee window covering up to 75% of the risk for SMEs with viable patents. The program also offers business model audits, intellectual property training, and mentoring to help inventors scale their ideas sustainably.

“This partnership fills a structural void by offering concrete, sustainable, large-scale support,” said OAPI Director General Denis Bohoussou. He described African patents as “an underexploited gold mine revealing local solutions adapted to African challenges.”

The need is urgent. Africa’s share of global patents registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) stands at just 4.11%, a slight dip from 4.20% in late 2024. Worse still, nearly all are concentrated in five countries: Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia. This initiative targets the remaining 17 OAPI member states, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal.

Beginning in Q3 of 2025, the program will identify and support patent holders whose inventions align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through AGF’s network of over 250 financial institutions and OAPI’s regional tech fairs, selected innovators will be connected with industrial partners for acceleration and market access.

“Patents shouldn’t sleep in drawers,” said AGF Director General Jules Ngankam. “Our role is to turn them into growth levers.”

Drawing inspiration from successful patent-driven economies in Asia, the program represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to bridge the innovation-to-market gap in Africa. If successful, it could signal a new era in which African ingenuity drives job creation, economic growth, and sustainable development across the continent.