24 Jun 2025

Government is committed to creating a conducive environment for entrepreneurship to thrive, by investing in young innovators, improving regulatory frameworks and strengthening value chains.

Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Tiroeaone Ntsima said this Friday at a stakeholder engagement session hosted for Foundry Fellows under the Botswana-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Collaboration Agreement in Gaborone.

To ensure an enabling environment for entrepreneurship to thrive, he said government actively supported institutions like Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub, University of Botswana, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, and Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency, to deliver impactful programs across the country.

The minister, therefore, expressed gratitude to MIT and the fellows for convening in Botswana to deepen collaboration across innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems. Stakeholder engagement, he said, provided a platform for collective reflection, knowledge exchange and action to accelerate Botswana’s innovation ecosystem, as well as shape an innovation future that delivered shared prosperity across Africa.

“The Foundry Fellows, each a leader in their own right, bring together a wealth of experience and insights from across the African continent,” he said. 

Mr Ntsima said  their presence signified shared ambition to build prosperous, inclusive and innovation-led societies. He said Botswana was on a journey to reimagine its economy to move from a resource-dependence towards knowledge-based and innovation driven growth.

“Our collaboration with MIT, through the Foundry Fellowship, MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP), the Early-Stage Bootcamp and the upcoming MIT Sandbox pilot, is a cornerstone of this transition. We see it as a gateway to world-class expertise, continental partnerships, and local capacity building. We are learning from the best, that for us to succeed at this, we have to touch every aspect of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem,” he added.

The MIT model, Mr Ntsima said, had proved to be reliable, expressing confidence that collaboration would add value to on-going efforts in both government and private sector spaces to deliver significant impact on entrepreneurship and innovation capacities.

“We see opportunities for mentorship, knowledge transfer, strategic advice and collaboration with our ecosystem builders and entrepreneurs. We are ready to learn from your insights and to connect your innovations to Botswana’s opportunities,” he added.

Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship’s permanent secretary, Mr Olesitse Masimega said the ministry was mandated to build an export-led, globally competitive economy through five priorities. These he said included; entrepreneurship development, value chain growth, trade expansion, youth and women empowerment and cross-ministry collaboration.

Therefore, he said the ministry was open to engage and collaborate with the fellows in areas such as peer learning, mentorship, ecosystem strengthening, and cross-border market linkages. Mr Masimega also said that the country was committed to innovation-driven development, welcoming contributions of Africa’s leading minds in co-creating sustainable economic transformation. ENDS