Sustaining Research Infrastructures in Africa by Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships | Invest in Open Infrastructure, July 2023

"...Last month, IOI convened a workshop in Cape Town, South Africa, adjacent to the Open Repositories 2023 conference. The workshop was titled, “Building sustainable research infrastructures in Africa: Exploring public-private partnerships (PPPs).” The premise behind this convening was that research infrastructures (both physical and virtual) are a critical cog in the development puzzle on the continent. Government and private sector synergies can enhance investment in infrastructure and catalyse development on the continent. The conversation on how we can sustainably fund research infrastructures also directly built on discussions we started with several multi-sectoral stakeholders at the IOI workshop in Accra, Ghana, earlier this year. One of the major takeaways from that conversation was that exploring alternate funding mechanisms is essential to the growth of research on the continent...."