Towards developing a national framework for industry 4.0 in African emerging economies

Unlike past industrial eras, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (industry 4.0) is accelerated and continues to gain momentum. While developed economies are making remarkable progress and contributing geometrically to the global value chain, African emerging economies have continued to grapple with multiple uncertainties regarding industry 4.0 implementation at all levels. The main objective of this study is to develop a macro-level framework for developing industry 4.0 initiatives in emerging economies of Africa. Using a systematic literature review protocol, industrial transformation initiatives from 22 of 25 leading economies were analyzed based on 12 thematic indicators. The result shows that industry 4.0 in leading economies is built on named strategic initiatives with clearly defined objectives, policy thrusts, funding models, and multi-stakeholder involvement and implementation plans. This implies that the industry 4.0 agenda in emerging economies requires bespoke industrial transformation initiatives driven by robust policy, industry, and research integration. This paper makes theoretical and practical contributions by putting forward a macro-level innovation adoption model – the ‘coopetitive triple helix model’ and a national framework for developing industrial transformation initiatives for African emerging economies, respectively.