The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Implications of strategic orientation on firms’ performance in a lower middle-income country: Does organizational innovation capability matter?

AbstractSince the birth and subsequent ratification of United Nations’ Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, local businesses are working assiduously to re-strategize and adapt to the changing external environment including responsible consumptions and production in order to gain competitive advantage and improve their performance. To facilitate this call, our paper is aimed to analyse the implications of strategic orientation on firm performance, and develop a model to explain the mediating role of organizational innovation capability on the relationship between strategic orientation and firm performance with a focus on a lower middle-income country where such studies are largely inadequate. Our paper is anchored on positivists’ ontology and quantitative approach. Cross-sectional survey data have been elicited from formalized small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are registered with Ghana Enterprise Agency. Our hypotheses have been tested using Partial Least Square and Andrew Hayes Macro Process techniques. Our results have showed that the dimensions of strategic orientation (marketing, entrepreneurship, and technology) exert positive and significant effects on firms’ innovation capability and performance. Besides, organizational innovation capability significantly mediates the relationships between marketing and technological orientations and firms’ performance. This study is among the very few to provide strategic orientation model to enhance organizational innovation and performance in the context of lower middle-income country. The emergency of contextual variables that impact on organizational innovation and firm performance would go a long way to guide managers, owners and regulators to develop robust strategies that could enhance the realization of sustainable development goals in the long term

How organizational learning dimensions influence firms’ competitive strategy and performance in a lower-middle-income country: A mediation model

AbstractOrganizational learning (OL) offers knowledge sharing and innovation to firms. OL is a driver of firms’ competitive advantage and performance, yet this symbiotic relationship has not been adequately explored in most developing countries. It is against this backdrop that the current study aims to develop a baseline model in the context of a low- and middle-income country to explain the extent to which OL dimensions impact firms’ competitive strategy and performance. Our article utilizes a quantitative research approach and deductive reasoning. Cross-sectional survey data have been collected from small and medium enterprises across manufacturing, hospitality, extraction, transportation, construction, and oil and gas subsectors. Our data have been analyzed using the structural equation modelling technique. The study has revealed that OL dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge distribution, and knowledge interpretation have positive and significant impacts on firms’ competitive strategy and performance. Moreover, competitive strategy significantly and positively mediates the relationship between OL dimensions and firm performance. The theoretical implications of the study include the development of a baseline model to explain the extent to which OL dimensions impact firms’ competitive strategy and performance in the context of lower-middle-income countries, where such studies are largely inadequate. Practically, this study is among the very few to present contextual determinants of firm competitive strategy and performance to guide investors and business owners in attracting, retaining, and transferring knowledge in order to formulate fierce strategies