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Making Do Making Do Moving the Forward Under Hot Sun
TRANSFERRING TOOLS IN GHANA Suame Magazine in Kumasi, Ghana, is regarded as one of the most mature informal clusters in Africa, but its development required the efforts of a number of institutions, most notably the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU). The magazine—as engineering clusters are dubbed in Northern Ghana—first emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s when imports were scarce and Suame’s shops were, through questionable means, able to get a hold of most of the country’s supply of imported auto parts. In 1981, Ghana opened its borders to West African trade, and Suame grew to a regional manufacturing hub. At this time, most engineers in the sector were working with crude hand tools, much like the artisans of today’s Gikomba. To expand the capacity of the sector, the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi established
the Technology Consultancy Center (TCC) in 1972, which experimented with pilot production units like the Steel Bolt Production Unit, which by 1980, produced over 200,000 sets of bolts and nuts and established three independent spin-off enterprises employing a total of 11 lathes.
The ITTU has been so successful as a generator of growth in Suame Magazine that the Ghanaian government sponsored new ITTUs in each of the nation’s 10 districts. Perhaps its success is partly due to the wisdom of Director John Powell, who summarizes his philosophy as follows:
In 1980, the TCC established the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU), which set up workshops in Suame Magazine that provided on-the-job technical and business training, as well as access to machines for metalworking, welding, blacksmithing, casting, woodworking, and pattern making. Through connections in the UK, the ITTU was able to import affordable machines for local engineers. As an innovation hub, the ITTU was also well-positioned demonstrate new manufacturing techniques and products to local engineers.
“It is a long drop from the Ivory Tower to the Grass Roots. Academic engineers can face this free fall only if equipped with the parachute of confidence in their ability to communicate and apply their knowledge in purely practical terms. Informal industrialists tend not so much to listen to what is being said as to observe actions. When they see something that is practically useful they will copy it, especially if it is also affordable and cost-effective.” Source: Powell, 1995.