By on March 24 2014 2:26 PM
When it comes to famous discoveries and innovation pioneers, Latin America isn't considered the most fertile ground. Money and priorities might have something to do with that, but a few Latin American countries are trying to put more focus on innovation.
Take Manuel Elkin Patarroyo. This Colombian pathologist/immunologist hasn't gotten much recognition to date even though he was the first to attempt creating a synthetic vaccine for malaria, the tropical disease that claims millions of lives in Asia and Africa every year. Even though the vaccine, first developed in 1987, is still in the research phase and has yet to yield conclusive results, it won the doctor a Prince of Asturias Award -- the Spanish equivalent of a Nobel prize, highly prestigious in Latin America -- in 1994.
One reason there have been relatively few innovators like Patarroyo coming from Latin America: money. According to the World Bank, no private nor public institutions have made it a priority. In 2009, latest data available, only 8 percent of Latin American companies invested in research and scientific advancement – and just a quarter of those dedicated more than $150,000.
Government or public institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean invest an average of 0.78 percent of gross domestic product on research, whereas the European Union invests 2.5 percent of its GDP on research. Some countries, like Mexico and Chile, have started policies to change this, like "Start-up Chile" which gives out funding to innovative projects. However, they remain in the minority among Latin American and Caribbean nations.
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