In view of the fact that effective marketing and technology transfer is widely recognised as a major driver of economic and social development, groups of Africans in Diaspora organised a workshop in Birmingham, UK, in June 2006 with the purpose of exploring new approaches for facilitating effective technology transfer for the benefit of Africa’s development. The shared common understanding and outcomes were: stimulating an enabling business environment for progress technology inflows, providing suitable technological capabilities for local communities and attracting joint foreign investments. Those three pillars were assumed to be good basis for the socio-economic empowerment of Africa which would in turn contribute to stability and security.

Against this backdrop, Promotion of Progress Technology Africa (PPT) was established in a bid to find solutions for rural and urban technology needs, and to provide rural and business communities with access to innovative progress technologies and expertise in the form of transfer, accessability and linking with key actors in this realm.

PPT Africa is attaching importance to effective marketing and technology transfer in a bid to promote innovation and economic development in general. Today, PPT Africa is a specialised organisation involved in and responsible for the transfer, adaptation and development of technology and machinery in order to contribute to poverty alleviation and business community empowerment. PPT is also involved in technology imports (choice, selection, evaluation and monitoring), skill transfer and development, information development and dissemination, and financial management. A coordination system for storing information and linking to relevant like-minded organisations has also been put in place.