Jeddah, KSA, 24 – 2-2013: Entrepreneurial spirit, knowledge infrastructure, and relevant policies are must-haves for innovation to bring about socio-economic growth in Islamic countries, concluded a panel of innovation experts gathered at the IDB Headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on a two-day meeting of more than 20 internationally renowned innovation experts from different parts of the world, last week. The experts from Australia, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, and USA shared their views and experiences on innovation policies and pro-poor technologies.
Chairing the meeting, Dr. Jamel Eddine Zarrouk, Chief Economist, IDB, stated that policy frameworks anchored in a country-specific context are a critical driver to achieve progress. Earlier, the Chairman of the IDB Group, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, in his inaugural address said that sharing of innovative ideas and experiences from its member countries and with the rest of the world contributes to the IDB motto: Together we build a better future. Case studies of national policies from advancing
countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and Korea together with sector-specific innovation approaches on Islamic Finance, Halal industries, renewable energy and nano-technologies, in Africa and South Asia, were presented at the meeting. The experts also shared with the participants innovative technology solutions with the potential to lift entire rural villages out of poverty. The main successful technology-based solutions discussed included the IDB-financed Solar Home System project in
Bangladesh, the Dertu water distribution system in Kenya, the cell phone cash transfer system in Senegal, and the mobile health services in rural Mozambique.
The expert meeting called upon the IDB Group to continue the dialogue towards assisting member countries in developing innovation framework that suits economic development model in respective countries, strengthen its capacity building and knowledge transfer and share such knowledge through IDB and other websites. The Experts also recommended the creation of a knowledge exchange platform based on good practices.