Africa-Press – Botswana. Government is working on finalising a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy, Assistant Minister of Communications and Innovation, Mr Shawn Nthaile has said.
Speaking at a two-day Botswana Tech Summit held under the theme: Technology. People. Development, Mr Ntlhaile said this came after an AI Readiness Foundation initiative together with UNESCO, which verified Botswana’s readiness to AI technologies in terms of methods, inclusivity, security, and alignment with the national development aspirations.
“Artificial intelligence has joined the ranks of great human inventions that have reshaped society. So, as a country, we are keen to harness the full potential of AI while safeguarding against its risks,” said Mr Nthaile adding that government was supportive to home grown AI solutions tailored to Botswana’s challenges, from livestock technology, climate modelling to indigenous language processing.
He further said government was actively shaping AI governance frameworks, promoting ethical use of data and drafting new policies on cyber security and digital services.
The assistant minister also said government was exploring the integration of AI in agriculture to predict cross-fields and manage foothills, piloting AI for health diagnostics in remote periods, and that soon more public services would be digitised; licensing to social welfare, with machine learning driving efficiency and responsiveness.
“We are fostering cross-sector collaboration between academia, industry, and government to unlock new discoveries and scale innovation, and recognise that with great technology comes responsibility.
Aligned with international standards, Mr Nthaile said Botswana was committed to being a regional voice on responsible AI, collaborating with global partners to ensure that progress did not leave the values of Batswana behind.
He said the summit aligned with the vision and action pillars of the Transformation Agenda, directly supporting Botswana’s push to reduce, organise and diversify into policy-based sectors.
He also said the summit acted as a catalyst for foreign direct investment and local private sector development.
Mr Ntlhaile further said the launch of Botswana Satellite recently in US was a symbol of the nation’s aspiration to become Southern Africa’s digital hub.
He said the Satellite launch was a declaration that Botswana was open to global innovators, researchers, and pioneers; that Botswana was building digital infrastructure necessary to host data centres, cloud service providers, and AI-driven enterprises that would shape the future.
“Technology is no longer an accessory to the economy, it is an engine. We are actively courting foreign direct investment in artificial intelligence, fintech, and cloud services. We are building an ecosystem where global innovators will find not only opportunity, but infrastructure, talent, and policy support,” he said.
Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe said the future of Botswana was on online, “in the cloud, in the ambitions of young people, in the brilliance of our coders, our creators, our innovators.”
He said the future of Botswana was in her capability to turn her digital potential into a national asset.
“We must now pivot, from sparkle to spectrum. From the limited brilliance of a single gem to the infinite possibilities of an interconnected, diversified economy driven by knowledge and innovation,” he said.
As Botswana moves from mineral resource based economy to a productive and technology diversification, he said Botswana Tech Summit gave a unique opportunity to explore how digital tools, data and innovation could be used to achieve the transformation.
Mr Gaolathe said government was forging a Botswana that was greener, healthier, and digitally empowered and a nation in full alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Moreover, he said Botswana should localise and scale on lessons and aspirations from countries such as Estonia, Rwanda, Kenya and India who used technology to transform their economies, even under difficult circumstances than Botswana.
Nevertheless, he said through the SmartBots programme, Botswana was already taking steps.
“Through this programme, government was deploying high-speed internet infrastructure to cover more than 80 per cent of our population. But access alone is not enough, we must ensure that every Motswana, regardless of where they live, can use that access to create value,” Mr Gaolathe said.
He said government’s vision was to build an inclusive digital economy that created opportunity, enhances efficiency, and reduced inequality; with policies geared toward attracting investment into fintech, agritech, clean energy, health tech and creative industries.
To achieve this, he said, government was seeking strategic and transformative values-aligned partnerships with companies such as Microsoft, Huawei, AfriLabs, Y-Combinator, and the African Fintech Network to support startup ecosystem; whilst engaging ‘our SADC neighbours and regional institutions to develop shared digital policies, common data protection standards and collaborative innovation programmes.’
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
