South-south technology transfer: the case of pharmaceutical know-how in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

Technological capabilities that are necessary for industrial development are often learned from others. But where does technology come from and through which channels? This article identifies a change in the source of pharmaceutical know-how in East Africa, from the global north to the global south. This shift in the countries from which know-how arrived coincided with a shift in the channels through which know-how was transferred, from channels that enhance individual capabilities to channels that enhance firm capabilities. What impact do such changes have on local production? I show that these changes not only led to increased inclusion-it became possible for nascent entrepreneurs with lesser resources to enter the sector-but also to increased internal differentiation. I also suggest that foreign direct investment functions as a countervailing force that reverses locally owned industrialization. Understanding sources and channels of technology transfer, and their impact, is an important contribution to the study of technology transfer and of industrial development more generally.