Open Innovation as a Catalyst for Grassroots Entrepreneurship: Insights from Collaborative Digital Platforms in Nigeria

Authors

Nankyer Sarah Joseph, American University of Nigeria, Nigeria

Mohammed Nasiru Yakubu, Arden University, United Kingdom

Published in

IST-Africa 2026 Conference Proceedings

ISSN: 2576-8581

ISBN: 978-1-905824-76-2

DOI: https://doi.org/10.67725/IST-Africa.2026.XMSR1330

Publisher

IST-Africa Institute and IIMC International Information Management Corporation Ltd

Published in Ireland

Abstract

Open innovation has become central to understanding collaboration and competitiveness in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Yet, existing literature remains heavily centered on formal, well-resourced contexts, offering limited insight into how open innovation functions within the informal economies of the Global South. This paper conceptually examines open innovation as a catalyst for grassroots entrepreneurship in Nigeria, emphasizing how collaborative digital platforms shape innovation under structural and contextual constraints. It is guided by a Critical Realist perspective, collaborative exchange, learning and capability building, resource pooling, institutional mediation, and socio-cultural mediation that enable or constrain innovation. The paper develops a Critical Realist-informed conceptual framework that explains how structural conditions and contextual enablers activate or suppress collaborative innovation mechanisms that theorizes the interaction between structure, mechanism, and context, incorporating a feedback loop to show how outcomes inform policy learning. The study contributes a context-sensitive, middle-range conceptual explanation that extends open-innovation theory toward inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship in African settings.

Keywords

Open Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Developing Economies, Conceptual Framework

Cite this paper

N.S. Joseph and M.N. Yakubu (2026) "Open Innovation as a Catalyst for Grassroots Entrepreneurship: Insights from Collaborative Digital Platforms in Nigeria", IST-Africa 2026 Conference Proceedings, Miriam Cunningham and Paul Cunningham (Eds), IST-Africa Institute and IIMC, 2026, ISSN: 2576-8581, ISBN: 978-1-905824-76-2, https://doi.org/10.67725/IST-Africa.2026.XMSR1330

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