It is now ten years since the Economist newspaper declared Africa to be “the hopeless continent”. Today, the same magazine offers a different prognosis, building on the World Bank’s prediction of growth rates for sub-Saharan African economies that will be twice those of Europe. This is in the context of a severe and prolonged recession in North America and Europe and a growing realization that the epicentres of development are shifting eastwards, and southwards. Today, I will reflect on what this may mean for some aspects of a small part of innovation.The qualifiers are deliberate; predicting the future in our complex, interconnected world is hubris. My case will be in three parts. Firstly, that sustainable economic growth depends on myriad “innovation pathways”, rather than on discrete, spectacular events. Second, that there is nothing inherently ethical about innovation, economic growth or markets, and that beneficiation comes from organizational context. Third, that the “Third Sector” has a key role – NGOs, civil society bodies, Trusts and the like that work in the space between the private sector and government