Technology Transfer As A Vehicle For Industrial Development Case Of Basic Metals And Engineering Industries

Technology played a prominent role in satisfying social demand throughout the humanrnhistory resulting in today’s human development. It is one of the most important andrnpowerful instrument that leads to improved standards of living by reducing poverty.rnFurthermore, the importance of technology to domestic economic development has beenrnwidely recognized and become the main strategy for competition between nations.rnTechnology has made a huge impact on many nation’s economies and societies throughrntechnology transfer, which is regarded as an essential step for technology advancements.rnThe objective of the research is to show direction of how industrial development can bringrnthrough coordinated and integrated transfer of technology, which leads to sustainable socialrnand economic development in Ethiopian industries. To conduct this research, variousrnrelated literatures have been reviewed both published and unpublished. It has also beenrnreviewed the practice of China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil and South Africa andrnpractice of technology transfer in Ethiopia since 1400 G.C. Furthermore, surveys on basicrnmetals and engineering industries, international technical assistant agencies, governmentrnenterprises and institutions have been made. Moreover, ratio of imported to total rawrnmaterial cost, percentage distribution of value added, and employment contribution ofrnBMEIs have been analyzed by considering the past 14 successive years.rnReview of socioeconomic development paths of the NICs of East Asian countries revealedrnthat their initial conditions in early 1960s as being similar to many of the African countries.rnHowever, their rapid and successful transformation into industrialized economies throughrn"free riding" technology transfer system based on the scientific, and technologicalrnknowledge base developed by the industrialized countries have contributed for their rapidrntechnological development.rnEthiopia has a remarkable record of achievement of a two digit economic growth for thernlast five consecutive years. However, the contribution from the industrial sector remainsrnminimal. To ensure the sustainable economic and social development of the country inrntoday’s competitive world, building technological capability of the industry is critical. ThisrnTechnology Transfer as a Vehicle for Industrial Development Gulelat GatewrnAbstract ivrncould be achieved through well organized and coordinated technology transfer systemrnbased on the need of the industry and society.rnMost of the imported technologies to the country in the past had failed to be adopted,rnimproved, re-engineered, and disseminated to other similar industries at the desired level,rnespecially in BMEIs.rnEthiopian Basic Metals and Engineering Industries (BMEIs) are facing various challenges.rnMost of all, the challenges related to technology seriously affect the product development,rnprofile versatility and quality of the product in terms of geometrical fitness and requiredrnproperties. Moreover, the product profile and technological process are being stagnant. Therncountry BMEIs have been engaged in low value addition activities. Therefore, there is nornopportunity to develop new technology that enhance the capital income of the industries inrnparticular and the nation as a whole.rnAs the research shows, besides the above mentioned challenges the industries are alsornsuffering due to: low productivity caused by old technologies and inadequate attentionrngiven to their improvement and development; inadequate support and facilities for researchrnand development activities ; lack of fully assimilating or internalizing the technologies andrnhence not using them to full extent; limited diffusion of knowledge within the country;rnlack of coordination, implementation, evaluation and controlling mechanism across thernstakeholders.rnTherefore, the researcher proposed various solutions that would enable technology transferrnto BMEIs in particular and to the country at large. The proposed solutions mainly focus onrntechnology policy, technical development of higher institutes, practical oriented Sciencernand Technology Education, coordinate participation of the stakeholders, applied R&D,rnUniversity-Industry linkage, establishment of Basic Metals and Engineering IndustriesrnTechnology Transfer and Innovation Centre (BMETTIC) and Technology IncubationrnCentre.rnKey words:- Technology, Technology Transfer, Technological Capability, Basic Metalsrnand Engineering Industries.

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