The climate crisis has migration implications, and we need to act inclusively and urgently. Climate change impacts people’s decisions to migrate largely through economic, political, technological, demographic, and socio-cultural factors, and their dynamic interlinkages. These complex issues often influence climate risks and vulnerabilities and complicate effective investment and policy actions on migration. However, there is inadequate documentation on how climate change is linked to migration and social transformation. Based on a traditional literature review and inputs from a consultation dialogue, this paper analyzes climate-induced migration in West Africa using a social transformation lens. The paper conceptualizes the climate-induced migrant as an agent of adaptation and describes the complexities of climate vulnerabilities, and its intersection with social transformation in migration decisions. A social transformation conceptual framework is proposed to identify the complexities of climate-induced migration and ensure inclusive strategies are planned, implemented, and sustained. The paper discusses the need for transdisciplinary research approaches to capture various intersections of transforming socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities across different countries and migratory landscapes. The paper also highlights the critical concern in the region regarding the “trapped population.” It suggests that a social transformation lens is required to unravel the dynamics around vulnerable people unable to migrate because they do not have the resources to migrate or are constrained by cultural issues.

We witness a promotion of hybrid partnerships, where actors with different competences and resources collaborate for smallholder inclusive value chain development. To better understand the functioning of these partnerships, we used institutional theory and studied the context of a global and emerging regional food value chains in Ghana, the blending of logics by key actors in Innovation Platforms and Public Private Partnerships, and their effect on value chain relations of smallholder farmers. In the global value chain of cocoa, partnerships adhered to ‘green revolution’ and ‘free-market’ logics, and provided all farmers material support. In the more informally organised regional food sector, local executing partners selectively coupled their logics with those of poor smallholders, who rely on low-input agriculture and solidarity logics to make ends meet. This improved the position and transaction costs of smallholders to participate in the value chain. Hence, it is more likely for partnerships to create smallholder inclusive governance in informally organised regional food value chains, than highly structured global value chains controlled by international buyers. To gain insight in the variety of political effects this triggers in different social–historical shaped farmer communities, households and actors, we recommend complementary local research from a critical institutional perspective.

Strengthening the capabilities of agro-processing enterprises to be innovative and competitive has been a long-term industrial development challenge. This is mainly because, there is limited empirical insight on the ability of the enterprises to assimilate and use knowledge to create innovations. The effectiveness of policy in supporting capability building is also often contested. This paper employs a multi-case qualitative research approach to understand innovation capability building processes. It argues that learning mechanisms required differ with agro-enterprise size. Findings reveal the acquisition of knowledge in the micro- and small enterprises is embedded in learning-by-doing and informal mechanisms that require context-specific development interventions. Therefore, knowledge supply organizations must understand these peculiarities to support these enterprises with ‘easy-to-understand-and-use’ technologies and practical managerial information. Policy-makers need to formulate and implement strategies that can effectively facilitate partnerships, technology development and transfer within an enabling industrial policy environment, for enhanced capability building and a competitive industrial sector.

The special issue of Innovation and Development on ‘Building innovation capabilities for sustainable industrialization in Africa … ’, presents a series of articles on building local technological capabilities and their implications for formulating and implementing policies in Africa’s industrialization agenda. Despite the high potential of Africa in advancing its industrialization mainly in resource-intensive sectors, progress remains low. Empirical evidence on the reasons for this problem is inadequate and patchy. Articles in this special issue address the gaps by delving into empirical issues ranging from sector-specific innovation capabilities to national systems of innovation. Based on first-hand data collected from South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, the articles unravelled key structural and systemic problems behind Africa’s dismal progress in developing technological and industrial capabilities. Together, these articles advance our understanding of how to improve the effectiveness of innovations, industrial policies, and coordination for inclusive and sustainable industrialization.