ABSTRACT
Innovations are considered a major driving force in industrial development, although the nature and types of innovation carried out are very different in different contexts of development. Innovations that are new to the local market but not necessarily so to the global market may well have significant economic value in developing countries whereas innovations that are new to the global market may hold greater attraction to multinationals from developed countries. Nonetheless, innovation does not take place in isolation; it requires the collaboration of other economic actors and thrives on sustained institutional support from governments as well as other non-state actors. The types of support from government depend on the capacity of the state and the maturity of the policies across different sectors of economy.
