• OAPI, WIPO launch regional technology innovation support centers network

• Centers to improve patent access, training across 17 member states

• Initiative aims to boost innovation, commercialization and SME competitiveness

The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) has partnered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to establish a regional network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers, known as TISCs. The goal is to improve access to intellectual property information and training across documentation centers in OAPI’s 17 member states.

For OAPI Director General Denis Loukou Bohoussou, the centers are meant to go beyond basic documentation services.

“TISCs are not just access points for information. They are a critical link in the innovation value chain,” he said. According to him, the centers are designed to help inventors, researchers, universities, small and medium-size businesses, and entrepreneurs access patent databases as well as scientific and technical literature. “TISCs help create the right conditions for a knowledge- and creativity-driven economy,” he added.

A planning meeting held February 26 and 27 in Yaoundé laid the operational groundwork for the future network. Discussions focused on the respective roles of WIPO, OAPI, and member states, including financial and technical contributions, training programs for TISC staff, the rollout of national and regional focal points, simplified access to databases, and the deployment of specialized digital tools.

The initiative aims to bring together public innovation support structures, the private sector, universities, research centers, and independent inventors under a coordinated regional framework. Over time, OAPI hopes to foster a shared momentum for technological and socio-economic development across its member countries.

For Mr. Bohoussou, “The regional TISC network within the OAPI space is not just a technical project. It is a vision — one of an Africa that values its innovation potential, protects its creators, and uses intellectual property as a lever for development and progress.”

Beyond improving access to patents, the broader objective is to enhance the commercialization of research results, strengthen the protection of inventions, and boost the competitiveness of innovative small and medium-size enterprises across the 17-country bloc.

Ludovic Amara, with Business in Cameroon