Renowned Private Legal Practitioner, Ace Anan Ankomah, has urged African nations to prioritise homegrown solutions over foreign ideas, stressing that human intellect, not natural resources, is the real engine of development.
Speaking at the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogue under the theme “Innovating Africa’s Future”, Ace Ankomah highlighted the untapped potential of young scholars across the continent
Ace Ankomah highlighted a persistent problem in academia, noting that each year, students generate and defend brilliant ideas that earn recognition, yet too often, these innovations fade into obscurity without ever being implemented.
“But we must solve our problems ourselves. Not through lazy imports of ill-fitting ideas and solutions designed for other societies. Brains develop a nation, not natural resources. The solutions to many of our science, technology, and engineering challenges already exist.
“They are generated by our brainy students, but buried in university archives, in theses, in research projects that identify real problems and propose workable answers,” he said.
He further called for deliberate efforts to harness and scale student research, arguing that sustainable progress depends on nurturing local talent rather than relying on external imports.
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