Alinah Kelo Segobye

“However, their biggest challenge is protecting their products, as there are many perils that make them extremely vulnerable. We need a regulatory framework to ensure they can continue protecting their resources and knowledge.”

“In the culinary world, Botswana chefs are promoting the country’s cuisine globally. Young entrepreneurs are manufacturing beauty products for black skin that are entering global markets. They are becoming boundary less in their innovation, enterprising, and partnering to ensure their products reach beyond Botswana’s borders.”

“There has been an explosion of new talent and creativity, taking what has been the traditional marketplace and moving it into a global export platform. In the music scene, young people have used indigenous languages to create new music genres like Amapiano, gaining global visibility.”

“Community-based natural resource management has also been important, especially in the Okavango Delta, where indigenous skills like mokoro poling are being brought into the tourism market. We’ve seen young people venture into using indigenous products like leather and the palm tree to make products that are now going into a more global space through online marketing platforms.”

“In terms of land management, Botswana has an interesting system where people have access to both rural agrarian land and urban land. The government has ensured that young people who have inherited land can use it as capital for agribusiness and tourism. They can have a traditional cattle post on part of the land and develop the other part into cultural villages or eco-villages.”

“It’s important that whatever innovation we are developing is done ethically and sustainably so that it can continue benefiting communities positively. This is especially critical when dealing with challenges like access to clean water and safe birth technologies, which can transform the lives of women and children.”

“Innovation involves bringing together ideas, research, development, financing, and commercialisation. It looks good when it has a positive impact on people’s lives. In Botswana, which has been driven mainly by the diamond mining sector, innovation means ensuring that key value chain beneficiaries are the communities in and around where the resources come from, and that these technical solutions are sustainable and won’t bring negative impacts on the environment and livelihoods.”

“Innovation is a broad term that can mean anything from the discovery of new technologies to putting them to good work to transform people’s livelihoods. It has to have a social and economic impact on people’s lives.”

“The use of new technologies has also been beneficial in public health, with telemedicine enabling doctors in Botswana to work globally without moving, and in education, with online learning programs making education more accessible and inclusive.”

“While job losses have occurred in sectors like financial services due to automation, the HRDC works with other agencies to retool and reskill the human resource. Young people are diversifying into areas like agribusiness, food processing, artificial intelligence and drone technology for crop and wildlife management.”

“Young people are becoming globalised through online media platforms, using digital skills to promote themselves in creative industries like fashion, food, film, and photography. In Botswana, the government has made technology affordable and accessible by providing devices, smart boards and Wi-Fi in villages and schools.”

“We have been a bit shy of adopting technology, but we’ve seen young people rapidly take up technology and innovative solutions to their everyday problems. We cannot stay with our heads buried in the sand; we have to move with the rapidity of change.”

“A transformative investment has been the digitalization of the education sector during and post-COVID, ensuring all young people have access to technology, including electrification and Wi-Fi in villages.”

“The government has created safety nets and financial services to ensure young people have access to capital, such as the Chema Chema fund, similar to Kenya’s Hustler Fund. The focus is on small and medium enterprises, with agencies like the HRDC and the Local Enterprise Authority supporting young people in developing and scaling their businesses. Access to markets remains a challenge, but the government is exploring continental trading partnerships and attracting foreign direct investment.”

“Another major challenge is Botswana’s mono-economy, largely dependent on the diamond mining sector. In the past, we exported raw diamonds without beneficiation, but recently, the government has negotiated with investors to house some of the manufacturing value chain in Botswana, creating job opportunities for young people. However, the job market remains narrow.”

“The biggest challenge currently facing the country is unemployment, with a youth unemployment rate above 30%, including both secondary school and postgraduate graduates. There are problems of people without jobs and ironically jobs without people, pointing to misalignment between supply and demand of labour. It’s crucial that we explore alternative pathways to ensure the Government can address employability.”

“The government developed a second university, the Botswana University of Science and Technology, but with new private players, issues of quality assurance, employability, and access arose. The government, through what was then the Tertiary Education Act and the Vocational Training Act created the Tertiary Education Council and the Botswana Training Authority to oversee quality assurance and ensure a resource base for education and training.”

“The HRDC was conceptualized almost 20 years ago to address challenges emerging in the management of the higher education sector in Botswana. At the time, Botswana had one national university, the University of Botswana, but there was a shift in the education ecosystem with new private service providers entering. It became clear that one university would not meet all the needs in terms of intake and access.”

“We also look at ways to address the challenge of youth unemployment by utilizing resources to develop programs targeting young people, providing them with entrepreneurship skills and artisanal training. In the context of policy advisory, we produce knowledge products like foresight research to anticipate future job demands and those that will be phased out of the industry.”

“It looks good when it has a positive impact on people’s lives. In Botswana, which has been driven mainly by the diamond mining sector, innovation means ensuring that key value chain beneficiaries are the communities in and around where the resources come from, and that these technical solutions are sustainable and won’t bring negative impacts on the environment and livelihoods.”