18 Apr 2016

Innovation can be used as a vehicle to drive economic diversification, according to Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) representative, Dr Busanani Tasheba. Addressing Ghanzi residents at a recent BIH road show, Mr Tasheba said the purpose of the road show was to share the joy they ensued after winning the bid to host the Innovation Price for Africa Awards with Ghanzi residents. 

Dr Tasheba said the awards would be held in Gaborone on June 22-23. He said the awards would be hosted in collaboration with the African Innovation Hub, with government’s support and an endorsement from the President himself. 

Dr Tasheba also said Botswana’s 50th anniversary played a critical role in making sure that they win the bid. He said BIH helped in the implementation of tangible and scalable projects that would assist in accelerating the attainment of Vision 2016 and the upcoming Vision 2036. 

He explained that innovation was a mechanism that saved money since one product was done differently.“Innovation brings solutions to our everyday life problems hence it should be embraced,” noted Dr Tasheba. Furthermore, Dr Tasheba said the government saw the importance and interest of BIH in trying to improve the innovation designs in Botswana. 

He said developed countries have innovated current ideas in commercial domain hence the growth of their economies continues. He also encouraged innovators to come up with ideas that address the current needs of the people and said they should protect the patent rights of their products. 

The African Innovation Hub has been hosting the Innovation Price for Africa awards for the past five years, South Africa being the inaugural host in 2011. END