Received 05.11.2025, Revised 02.03.2026, Accepted 26.03.2026 Published 06.04.2026

National innovation systems and sustainable development goal performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Kassim Alabani, Benedict Afful Jr., Francis Taale, Eric Abokyi

Progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains uneven across Sub-Saharan Africa despite sustained policy emphasis on innovation-led development. Although national innovation systems are widely regarded as drivers of long-term growth and sustainability, empirical evidence on how innovation system performance translates into multidimensional development outcomes in the region remains limited. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of national innovation system performance on SDG achievement in Sub-Saharan Africa using a balanced panel of 43 countries over the period 2005-2023. National innovation system performance was measured using a composite index constructed from research and development expenditure, public spending on education, labour force participation, and institutional quality. Panel econometric techniques were employed to account for heterogeneity, endogeneity, and dynamic relationships. The static random-effects results indicated a positive and statistically significant association between innovation system inputs and SDG performance (β = 2.431, p < 0.01), while gross domestic product per capita exhibits a strong positive effect (β = 4.210, p < 0.01). However, the fixed-effects estimates showed that within-country changes in innovation inputs were not statistically significant (β = 2.680, p = 0.101), suggesting that cross-country structural differences largely drive the observed association. After correcting for endogeneity using instrumental variables, innovation inputs remained statistically insignificant (β = 0.240, p = 0.489), whereas institutional quality (β = 2.737, p < 0.01) and gross domestic product per capita (β = 3.004, p < 0.01) emerged as robust determinants of SDG performance. The results of the dynamic system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation further revealed strong persistence in SDG outcomes (lag coefficient = 0.968, p < 0.01), while innovation inputs exhibited only weak short-run effects (β = 1.259, p < 0.10). The findings suggested that innovation systems influence sustainable development primarily through institutional and structural channels rather than through direct and immediate effects. Strengthening governance capacity and aligning innovation investments with institutional reforms therefore appear essential for accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

institutional quality; innovation governance; sustainable development policy; endogenous growth; panel data econometrics; structural equation modelling; development heterogeneity
27-44
Alabani, K., Afful Jr., B., Taale, F., & Abokyi, E. (2026). National innovation systems and sustainable development goal performance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Innovation and Sustainability, 6(1), 27-44. https://doi.org/10.31649/vis/1.2026.27

References

  1. Abrol, D. (2025). Transformative frame in system of innovation (SI) studies: Lessons from India’s public engagement with science, technology and innovation (STI) for socio-technical transition. Innovation and Development, 15(3), 495-517. doi: 10.1080/2157930x.2024.2413749.
  2. Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J.A. (2005). Institutions as a fundamental cause of long-run growth. Handbook of Economic Growth, 1(A), 385-472. doi: 10.1016/S1574-0684(05)01006-3.
  3. Adeosun, O.T., Odior, E.S., & Shitu, A.I. (2024). Human capital development, innovation, and industrial sector performance in sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from https://surl.li/knsxeb.
  4. Afolabi, J.A., & Adeyinka, F.M. (2024). Triple Helix model: Leveraging endogenous innovation systems for economic transformation in Africa. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 15(3), 225242. doi: 10.1504/ijtlid.2024.137481.
  5. Akhtar-Schuster, M., Stringer, L.C., & Barger, N. (2024). Fast-tracking action on the sustainable development goals by enhancing national institutional arrangements. PLoS ONE, 19(3), article number e0298855. doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0298855.
  6. Chaves-Chaparro, J., Aguirre-Bastos, C., & Domínguez-Gómez, J.A. (2025). The sustainability science approach in sub-Saharan Africa: Key lessons from five case studies. Sustainability Science, 20(3), 677-689. doi: 10.1007/s11625024-01616-0.
  7. Diop, S., & Asongu, S.A. (2024). Information and communication technologies as catalyst for the achievement of sustainable development goals at the local level in Africa. Forum for Social Economics. doi: 10.1080/07360932.2024.2387099.
  8. Dominguez Lacasa, I., & Molina Vogelsang, M. (2024). Enhancing international collaboration in science, technology, and innovation to achieve sustainable development goals. Science and Public Policy, 51(3), 509-525. doi: 10.1093/ scipol/scad087.
  9. Haldar, A., Sethi, N., Jena, P.K., & Padhan, P.C. (2023). Towards achieving sustainable development goal 7 in subSaharan Africa: Role of governance and renewable energy. Sustainable Development, 31(4), 2446-2463. doi: 10.1002/ sd.2521.
  10. Hamidi, S., & Berrado, A. (2024). Data analytics for national innovation research: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 15(3), 270-306. doi: 10.1504/ ijtlid.2024.137483.
  11. Jjagwe, R., Kirabira, J.B., Mukasa, N., & Okure, M. (2024). National innovation system for resilience, transformation and sustainable development in Uganda: Contextual analysis of the factors, actors and associated linkages. International Journal of Innovation Science, 18(2), 386-416. doi: 10.1108/IJIS-09-2023-0197.
  12. Lambert, E., & Deyganto, K. (2024). Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship for sustainable development in African communities. European Business & Management, 10(5), 85-96. doi: 10.11648/j.ebm.20241005.12.
  13. Lukman, S., Sadiq, M.A., & Bawah, M. (2023). Innovation and development in sub-Sahara Africa: The role of institutional development and inter alia. Scholars Bulletin, 9(5), 45-58. doi: 10.36348/sb.2023.v09i05.001.
  14. Machado, R.H., Cavalheiro, E.A., Corrêa, É.K., & Kontz, L.B. (2024). Integrating economic development, innovation, and environmental performance for sustainable futures: Insights from a global study. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 16(8), 16-30. doi: 10.5539/ijef.v16n8p16.
  15. Mbaya, M., & Ouma-Mugabe, J. (2024). A systematic literature review and mapping of systemic barriers to digital learning innovation in Africa in the context of changing global value chains. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 16(4), 491-511. doi: 10.1080/20421338.2023.2287803.
  16. Mosupye-Semenya, L. (2024). Comparative analysis of national innovation systems: Implications for SMEs’ adoption of fourth industrial revolution technologies in developing and developed countries. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 20(1), 65-85.
  17. Narayanan, E., Ismail, W.R., & Mustafa, Z. (2024). Non-parametric systematic review of the literature and future recommendations on the efficiency of the National Innovation System. Journal on Innovation and Sustainability RISUS, 15(2), 52-82. doi: 10.23925/2179-3565.2024v15i2p52-82.
  18. Ndicu, S., Ngui, D., & Barasa, L. (2023). Technological catch-up, innovation, and productivity analysis of national innovation systems in developing countries in Africa 2010-2018. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(2), 79417967. doi: 10.1007/s13132-023-01327-4.
  19. Nenni, M.E., Di Pasquale, V., & Boyer, J. (2024). The complicated relationship between innovation and sustainability: Opportunities, threats, challenges, and trends. Sustainability, 16(9), article number 3524. doi: 10.3390/su16093524.
  20. Ogwu, M. (2025). Sustainable development in Africa: Challenges, innovations, and policy pathways for the future. African Research Reports, 1(2), 55-69. doi: 10.65221/0005.
  21. Ouinsou, C.A., & Chabossou, A.F.C. (2024). New technologies and income inequalities into Sub-Saharan Africa: Using a new technological indicator. Telecommunications Policy, 48(9), article number 102833. doi: 10.1016/j. telpol.2024.102833.
  22. Sachs, J.D., Lafortune, G., & Fuller, G. (2024). Sustainable development report 2024: The SDGs and the UN summit of the future. Dublin: Dublin University Press. doi: 10.25546/108572.
  23. Skorge, O. (2024). Bottlenecks and innovation performance: A case study of Kenya. (Bachelor thesis, Lund University, Lund, Sweden).
  24. Sube, K., Belay, T., Hando, F., & Bayinesagn, A. (2025). National Innovation System (NIS) as a means for development: Policies, opportunities, and challenges in Ethiopia. F1000Research, 14, article number 34. doi: 10.12688/ f1000research.159772.2.
  25. Weerasinghe, R.N., & Gunawardena, K.S.L. (2024). Unveiling university networks aligning with SDGS: A social network analysis of the National Innovation System of Sri Lanka. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review, 5(1), article number e02967. doi: 10.47172/2965-730X.SDGsReview.v5.n01.pe02967.
  26. World Bank. (2024a). World development indicators. Retrieved from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/worlddevelopment-indicators.
  27. World Bank. (2024b). Worldwide governance indicators. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/ worldwide-governance-indicators.
  28. Yigit, S. (2021). An empirical perspective on the relationship between innovation performance and sustainable development. Ege Academic Review, 21(1), 47-57. doi: 10.21121/eab.874020.
  29. Zhang, M., Cheng, R., Fei, J., & Khanal, R. (2024). Enhancing digital innovation ecosystem resilience through the interplay of organizational, technological, and environmental factors: A study of 31 provinces in China using NCA and fsQCA. Sustainability, 16(5), article number 1946. doi: 10.3390/su16051946.
  30. Zvoushe, H. (2024). Some reflections on the contextual preparedness for the policy innovation labs initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa. PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development, 5(2), 105-130. doi: 10.46404/panjogov. v5i2.5704.