Innovation important for industrial progress

Lack of R&D leaves negative effects on economy.

LAHORE: There is an urgent need for extensive research and development (R&D) activity to enable the manufacturing sector to produce innovative, user-friendly and value-added products, says Shah Faisal Afridi, President of the Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI).

Speaking at a seminar on the “Positive impact of innovation on economy” at the chamber premises, he highlighted Pakistan’s weakness in making innovations and its adverse effects on the economy.



“According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14, Pakistan ranks 118th out of a total of 142 countries in the index,” he said, adding the only way to gain a sustained competitive advantage was to upgrade and expedite the process of development and innovation.

Quoting the example of China, which is rising at the cutting edge of global management practices, Afridi said the country was regaining its historic place as the global innovation power.

“Chinese are explicitly targeting innovation as a national priority for prosperity and are looking for ways to create their own products rather than copying other countries’ designs.”

He added Pakistan could achieve the value-addition targets only by adopting innovative practices as they were the main vehicles for organisational development, especially in view of the scarce resources, dynamic business environment, intense competition and changing consumer demands for quality.

He lamented that in manufacturing little or no attention had been paid to the effects of innovation on the economy and urged the business community as well as the government to allocate special funds for research and development.

“A proper exploitation of technology strongly influences business competitiveness, which is no longer a matter of choice but of survival in the marketplace,” he said.

Afridi also pointed out that in order to bring a visible change in development, a strong industrial policy was also required, which should address and support R&D, training and fiscal incentives for a selected group of industries and fields enjoying a comparative advantage.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st,  2014.

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