The Market: Africans Missing Link In Commercialization

Peter F. Drucker, one of the most influential management thinkers of the twentieth century, made a statement that should challenge every research institution seeking to transform scientific discoveries into economic and social value: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer”

Drucker places the customer rather than an organization internal activity at the centre of business purpose. This raises an uncomfortable but important question for research institutions in Africa: Can we genuinely claim to have commercialized an innovation simply because we have developed a technology, perfected a prototype, published a scientific paper or produced a promising product?

The fundamental purpose of commercialization must be understood in relation to society and the markets that emerge from its needs. One way to appreciate this is through three interconnected gaps. First is the product gap, where a research output has not yet been transformed into product or service that customers can readily use or purchase. Second is the market gap, where products may exist but customers demand, willingness to pay, competitive advantages and routes to market are not sufficiently established. Third is the business gap, where potential buyers exist but the organization lacks a sustainable model for delivering, selling, licensing or supporting the innovation.

These gaps demonstrate that scientific achievement, product development and commercial success are not necessarily the same.

Given that scientific success does not automatically translate into market success, Commercialization should not begin only when a finished product emerges from the laboratory. Rather, it should be informed by market intelligence that identifies customers’ needs, test demand, validate willingness to pay, establishes appropriate distribution channels and develop pathways for adoption and sustainable growth.

This has important implications for marketing. Marketing must serve as the bridge between scientific discovery and market application while commercialization provides the interface between research and industry, innovation and markets, scientists and end users, technology and innovation, and above all knowledge creation and value creation.

Just as a scientist would not claim to have validated scientific hypothesis without testing it, a commercialization team should not assume an innovation will succeed without establishing its relevance, desirability, accessibility and commercial sustainability. Boachie -Mensah and E. Marfo Yiadom (2012) identify factors that can contribute to product failure, including inadequate product uniqueness, poor planning, weak execution, technical problems and inappropriate timing of market introduction.

A critical examination of these challenges underscores the need to engage potential users before technologies are developed. Research institutions must understand the problems their innovations seek to solve, demonstrate their benefits, assess affordability and purchasing behavior, and establish multidisciplinary commercialization teams. They must also anticipate technology transfer agreements beyond pilot projects, engage manufacturers, investors and prospective adopters, and provide approved budgets for technology adoption, customer support and after sales services.

From the practitioner’s perspective, Marketing is neither merely promotion nor selling. It begins with a clear understanding of who needs the innovation, what alternatives are available, why customers should choose it and how it can reach the final consumer at the right place, at the right time and at an affordable cost. in this journey of creating customers, African innovations must reflect the local content, purchasing power, infrastructure, consumer preferences, distribution networks and access to finance. An innovation that ignores these realities may be scientifically sound but commercially inaccessible.

The responsibility for successful commercialization cannot rest solely with researchers or commercialization officers. It requires collaboration among researchers, technology officers, marketers, commercialization officers, industry players, entrepreneurs, government and policymakers, investors, development partners, and most importantly customers and end users. Each stakeholder has a role in ensuring that promising innovation move beyond the laboratory to achieve meaningful market adoption.

Ultimately, what matters is not simply the number of technologies developed, prototypes perfected or products launched but whether these innovations are adopted, affordable to customers, capable of generating repeat purchases, attracting licensing agreements and delivering sustainable revenue. Their contribution to job creation, entrepreneurship and broader public impact must also inform how research institutions measure commercialization performance.

Africa does not lack scientific talent or promising research outputs: what remains critical is the ability to connect these achievements to real market needs. our research institutions must therefore treat the market as an extension of the laboratory, where customers need, affordability, adoption and commercial viability are tested with the same rigour as scientific hypotheses. The true measure of African innovation is not merely what we discover, but what society can use, afford and sustain.