Africa is rapidly emerging as a global contender in genome editing innovation, with a new report revealing that 57 projects are already completed or underway across 16 countries to tackle the continent’s most urgent agricultural challenges. Professor Olalekan Akinbo, Head of the Genome Editing Programme at AUDA‑NEPAD, said many of the initiatives were at the proof‑of‑concept and early product development stages. Genome editing enables scientists to make precise modifications to an organism’s DNA without necessarily introducing foreign genes. The came to light at a three-day validation workshop on the Landscape Analyis on Genome Editing in Nairobi, Kenya. Six nations — Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso — have published genome editing guidelines, positioning them to fully commercialise genome-edited products.