18 Jun 2025

Government is in pursuit of a new economic model that is productive, inclusive, technology-driven and globally competitive.

Giving a keynote address during the 2025 OPEC Fund Development Forum on Tuesday in Austria, Vice President, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe  said the diamond-led growth model had done its part and no longer suffices to achieve the vision of transforming Botswana into a high-income economy. Therefore, Mr Gaolathe highlighted that government had opted for the national strategy to accelerate digital transformation across government, the economy and society through the SmartBots initiative which had connected over 1.66 million of the citizenry to broadband.

“Our free public Wi-Fi network reaches more than 470 000 unique users every single week. We reduced the cost of government connectivity by over 94 per cent, from P279 to P15 Megabits per second thus freeing resources for clinics, classrooms and start-ups,” he said.

The digital investments, he said enabled a new generation of micro enterprises, gig workers and youth-led innovations, especially in fintech and agritech, showcasing Botswana’s digital spirit.

Mr Gaolathe said government was brewing partnerships to rapidly upskill youth in Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science and digital entrepreneurship adding that plans were underway to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacity-building programmes for the civil service.

“A digital nation requires a digital government and good governance must be data-driven, accountable and citizen-first,” said Mr Gaolathe.

 He reaffirmed government’s intent to digitalise the health sector, beginning with an AI-powered health intelligence to forecast outbreaks, coordinate clinics and strengthen frontline care. These efforts, he said would empower communities to improve resilience and unlock future industries.

Mr Gaolathe further pleaded for the introduction of AI not to widen inequality but serve as a bridge to inclusion therefore, called for AI to be built on indigenous African data.

Similarly, Mr Gaolathe stated that government was placing Technical and Vocational Education and Training at the heart of the economy, not just for employment, but for real agency stating that from gig workers to rural entrepreneurs, Batswana were learning to use technology not as support but as a compass.

“Our commitment is to scale further, reach deeper and ensure that no village, no learner, no entrepreneur is left behind in Botswana’s digital journey,” he said.

Mr Gaolathe subsequently made a clarion call for the world to join hands with the new government to co-create scalable models in climate-smart agriculture, connectivity and cross-border digital finance.

He said the future demanded blended capital, shared expertise and courageous trust in new frontiers thus noted that Botswana offered a low-risk, high integrity investment climate with measurable impact. ENDS