“We must shift IP offices from registries to commercialization hubs”

Accueil / World Business / Facts and figures / “We must shift IP offices from registries to commercialization hubs”

“We must shift IP offices from registries to commercialization hubs”

Henri kouam, Executive director, Cameroon Economic Policy Institute.

07 Oct 2026 19:27

What successful models can Africa adopt to trans form intellectual property into a real engine for in dustrialization and global competitiveness? Why must we limit ourselves to African models of innova tion when we have the world to pick from? There are clear lessons from South Korea’s IP-to-Industry Commercialization Model and even Singapore’s IP Strategy 2030 that link patents directly to industrial production facilities. This means that intel lectual property becomes your Samsung, a more performant Hyundai and Kia. The key lesson for Africa is that we must shift IP offices from registries to commercialization hubs where patents and tech nology transfers result in tangible products. Buil ding regional ventures with manufacturers, will make it easy to convert lab innovations into produc tion lines. South Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency, funds and inte grates bio-processing and agricultural research patents directly into national commer cial manufacturing pipelines. What is the primary legal and financial hurdle pre venting African start-ups and from turning their pa tents and innovations into truly bankable economic assets? We don’t have a well-functio ning standardized secondary market and legal liquidation framework for foreclosed intangible assets across Afri can jurisdictions. This means that banks cannot effectively benefit from a relicense or de faulted patent. This discourages them from investing in riskier companies and start-ups. An African fintech or Agri-startup that holds proprietary code or patents in OAPI and ARIPO jurisdictions must pledge cash or real estate instead of an IP portfolio to access debt finan cing. We need better systems to advance more bankable start-up models. What financial valuation methods for intangible assets do you recommend to convince African com mercial banks to accept intellectual property as loan collateral? At CEPI, we recommend cash flow-linked valuations such as the Relief-from-Royalty Me thod (RRM) in addition to the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Methodology (MPEEM). The RRM shows the amount a firm makes from owning versus licensing IP that allows risk committees in banks to underwrite and ve rify such valuations. In Kenya’s Equity Bank or Nigeria’s Bank of Industry, they apply royalty- stream valuation models to underwrite many debts and loans for software and phar maceutical firms backed by government credit guarantees. Which specific investment tools should be prioritized to fund the critical shift from prototype to indus trial manufacturing? Governments and development actors should adopt First-Loss Guarantee Funds paired with Blended Equipment Leasing Credit Lines instead of relying on venture capital (VC) that tends to be diluted. While V...