How can we make the most of these engineers born in the wrong place?

Africa is experiencing a shortage of engineers, is the quintessence of an article published in March 2021 on the Eco Fin newspaper website. The same observation had already been made by Unesco in 2008. The article focuses in particular on the mismatch between training and skills.

Paradoxically, in parallel with this observation, we note a multitude of creations, sometimes made by people without a very advanced academic background. It's this category that interests us in this article.

The proliferation of self-taught engineers

In Africa, it's common to come across people, both schooled and unschooled, making prototype devices (airplanes, water-powered generators, racing cars, sports mats, etc.) or inventions from scratch, with derisory means.

Some of these inventions are simply reproductions of existing devices, made by people who have never been to engineering school or even used the objects they make with local materials. Whether they are original inventions or already existing ones, these young engineers, ready to transform the world, very often have no support, due to a lack of incubators or political or economic will. However, the fact remains that they are intelligent people, even geniuses. How can we capitalize on these creations? How can we guide these unknown, solitary engineers so that they can develop their talents? How can they adapt to the speed of Western creativity?

Inventiveness and dissemination

On October 4, 2024, on the page of a Cameroonian influencer with a large Facebook following, Stev Fah, was presented an invention by a Cameroonian engineer, Mba Hamadou. Mba Hamadou has developed a generator using water as an energy source. An invention that could revolutionize the energy sector in Cameroon. Cameroon is one of the largest hydroelectric basins in Africa. So inventing an energy source that runs on water could be accessible to many Cameroonians who live with the martyrdom of untimely power cuts. As can be seen on the influencer's page, several comments congratulate him on his feat, while others draw attention to the engineer's need to patent his invention and, above all, to be careful, as he and his invention could face competition from behemoths such as the oil industry, who are not prepared to lose their gains.

While this invention may seem original, there are others that are in fact copies, showing only the genius of the manufacturers. Such is the case with the 3D printer.

Arol is just 15 years old, and without any engineering training, this young man has created a printer made from recycled materials. So, he's not the inventor of 3D printers, but he was able to train himself to make a copy. He brilliantly explains his work in an interview available on Initiative Africa's YouTube page. This achievement is similar to those of Flanan Soro in Côte d'Ivoire.

Mr. Soro is a mechanic in his seventies. In his garage, we discover several objects assembled by him and his team: a water pump, a car and a helicopter. The helicopter isn't flying yet, but the car is. He's not young, but like most African geniuses, he's the product of self-training.

In 2015, Vidiol Tsagué, then a high school student, built a prototype airplane that took off thanks to a battery and a remote control. In fact, there's no originality in this production, but given the context, this young man's invention is fascinating. African inventors and engineers are in the same situation. How can we capitalize on these geniuses who were born in the "wrong place"?

Transforming Africa into a technology hub

When we say "wrong place", we're referring to contexts where there are hardly any serious incubators to inspire engineering vocations, and where politics doesn't attach much importance to these initiatives. In all the inventions mentioned, one common difficulty stands out: the lack of support. This support can be provided in several ways.

• Create incubators or elite schools for people who have already demonstrated advanced creative skills.
  
  It's not a question of organizing sporadic activities, like thescience day in Cameroon, for example, but of thinking long-term. In these contexts, instead of creating devices that already exist, engineers could update their knowledge of what already exists in an attempt to catch up with other engineers around the world.
  
  This solution requires sufficient resources from governments. Unfortunately, for many African leaders, this is not a priority. Another solution is possible: funding scholarships.
  
  
• Providing scholarships for engineers while minimizing the brain drain
  
  Training scholarships (studies and internships) can be a good approach. However, it's a double-edged sword insofar as engineers, once trained, may not return home, or may be recruited by the countries that train them. It's a risk we have to take if we don't want to let these talents sink into oblivion.
  
  As Daouda Maingari demonstrates in his article entitled "Brain drain in Africa: realities and deconstructing the discourse on a social phenomenon", scholarships have slowed the rate of return due to the lack of jobs on return and the promise of jobs in the host country.
  
  The point here is not to dip into student grants, but to really target engineers who have made achievements in order to send them to the right centers. An airplane inventor, for example, could stay at Boeing or Airbus to see how far the field has progressed, and where to take over. For example, 16-year-old Bamba, a young Senegalese with a passion for robotics and artificial intelligence, who has created a security system from salvage material (alarms), could stay at Microsoft at Senegal's expense. However, he needs to receive guarantees that his projects will be financed in his own country, so as not to be tempted to stay elsewhere.
  
  
• Creation of a fund to finance innovative projects
  
  In the capitalist world, interests prevail. A country that trains an engineer would like to keep him or her to create wealth in the country. So, for African engineers, especially those who want their inventions to first transform Africa before being sold elsewhere, another solution could be to set up a fund, not necessarily state-run, but from civil society and local businesses. This would at least guarantee a degree of sovereignty over inventions and independence for engineers.

In short, in a world where the brain drain is understandable insofar as people are all seeking well-being and are ready to settle in places where they can develop professionally, it makes no sense to want to keep people on the spot.

However, if a country wishes to develop, it is essential to combat the brain drain, which differs from the brain drain in that the former is a discreet removal of intelligence by other countries, while the latter is a vital move for reasons of professional security. This struggle involves mentoring engineers or geniuses so that they have the motivation to flourish locally.

Image, Copilote, "Can you create an image of African engineers?"

Bibliography

Maingari, Daouda, (2011), "Exode des cerveaux en Afrique : réalités et déconstruction du discours sur un phénomène social", https://shs.cairn.info/revue-education-et-societes-2011-2-page-131, Pages 131 à 147

3D printer from recycled material: a young Cameroonian's ingenuity inspires Africa: Camerounweb, 2024, "Cameroun: il invente un générateur électrique à eau", https://www.camerounweb.com/CameroonHomePage/business/Cameroun-il-invente-un-g-n-rateur-lectrique-eau-771834

Mbengue, "Flanan Soro, un inventeur de génie", 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD0XdTAKBXY

Ngono Atangana, Vanessa, 2011, "L'Afrique connait un manque d'ingénieurs en qualité et en quantité (UNESCO)" (Africa lacks engineers in quality and quantity) - https://www.agenceecofin.com/formation/2603-86571-l-afrique-connait-un-manque-d-ingenieurs-en-qualite-et-en-quantite-unesco