20 Aug 2020

Over the years,University Of Botswana (UB) and Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BUIST)  focused on Human Capital Development but with little involvement in entrepreneurial development.

This was said by Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education,Research ,Science and Technology Mr Machana Shamukuni when answering a question in Parliament on Wednesday. 

Mr Shamukuni said this explained the low level collaborations with start-ups or small medium enterprises by both the UB and BUIST. 

“My ministry recently held a meeting with council chairs and vice chancellors of our universities to guide on how they can participate in the growth of the economy”, he said 

Mr Shamukuni confirmed that BUIST had trained 15 graduates on starting and sustaining business through its centre for business management, entrepreneurship and general education.

He said that BUIST had partnered with Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development in training recipients of the youth development fund in Palapye and its surroundings.

On the other hand, he said that UB also assisted  seven Small Medium Enterprises  (SMEs), three  community organisations and four  disadvantaged members of society in business branding and label designs.

Mr Shamukuni said that for both UB and BUIST, companies, community organisations and individual’s projects were at different stages of development with some still at very infant stages of collaboration.

“Some services such as Morula sweets branding and products such as roof tile ash, bogobe jwa lerotse premix and herbal tea have reached the market while other products and services have not been taken to the market yet” he said 

Kanye North legislator, Mr Thapelo Letsholo had asked the minister  to inform the house about the role UB and BUIST were playing to support and enable business startups and to also state how many start-ups each of the institutions collaborated with annually over the last three years as well as to elaborate the products and services referred to in above stated. Ends