Innovation Spaces - Republic of Botswana

The Government of Botswana decided at an early stage that it is necessary to actively support entrepreneurship as an important contributor to diversifying the economy. The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA ) was established in 2004 to support SMEs, provide training, mentoring, technology adaptation and support services. The LEA has four incubators in different locations around the country; Pilane Multi sector Incubator (2009), Leather Industries Incubator (2010), Francistown Industrial Business Incubator (2011) and Glen Valley Horticulture Incubator (2011).

The Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH ) was conceived in 2008 within the Botswana Excellence Strategy to support economic diversification, job creation and transition towards a knowledge-economy by encouraging inward investment, research and training in the areas of ICT, Bio-Technology, Energy and Mineral Technology. Focal Sectors include Clean Energy, Solar Energy, Water Technologies, Sustainability, Coal Utlisation and Waste Management. ICT priorities include Innovation, Application and Services, Infrastructure and Priorities. Programmes include broader focused initiatives including the ICT Technology Cluster and the First Steps Venture Centre, as well as sector-oriented initiatives including the Mining Technology Entrepreneurship Centre (MTech Centre) and Cleantech Centre.

BIH has received support through the Finnish Government supported regional Southern African Innovation Support (SAIS ) Programme to establish a Global Business Lab and Technology Transfer Office within the University of Botswana; develop a Demand Driven Supply Chain Business Incubation Model; and address youth unemployment and local communities through Living Labs and Training (RLabs Botswana). BIH is also a partner in Southern African Innovation Support (SAIS) Programme 2, 2017 - 2020.

BIH is located close to the airport and offers services in the form of office space, land, state of the art telecommunications services, technology transfer services and entrepreneurship development. The Government of Botswana has put tax incentives in place to encourage Foreign Direct Investment.

The University of Botswana is hosting three Innovation Spaces; Global Business Labs Botswana (2013); Centre for Scientific Research, Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation (cESIki) and the DESIS Lab

Global Business Labs (GBL) is a Swedish based not-for-profit focused on early stage development, which in recent years has established partner hosted operations in Namibia, Botswana and Uganda.

Part of the Okavango Research Institute at UB, CesrIKi is an interdisciplinary and science focused research centre embracing the basic and applied sciences of Indigenous Knowledge, with a particular focus on participatory research, and documentation, education and awareness, and development efforts in Health, Food systems, Agriculture and Environmental management.

The DESIS Lab (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability) at University of Botswana is part of a partnership of universities including Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Makerere University (Uganda), Rio de Janeiro Federal University (Brazil) and Politecnico di Milano (Italy).