Africa-Press – Botswana. Time is fast gravitating towards the year 2036, a year the nation of Botswana aspires to have climbed the ranks of the high-income status ladder to achieve prosperity for all.
This dare to dream narrative is well encapsulated in Pillar Number One of the National Vision which states that the country will be a high-income country with an export-led economy underpinned by a diversified, inclusive and sustainable growth driven by a high level of productivity.
The mineral rich, flora and fauna endowed nation, which between 1966 and 1989 was the world’s fastest growing economy, aims to attain a high-income status by 2036.
Deliberate realignment of ministries and establishment of some, in particular, the Ministries of Entrepreneurship and that of Communications, Knowledge and Technology to harness the power of science, technology, research and development, as well as innovation, is key.
The rollout of SmartBots, which is a free high-speed and reliable Internet connectivity to villages and towns throughout the country to enhance digital delivery of services and encourage uptake of digitised production systems adds to the ideal ecosystem needed to catch-up with the aspirations of the nation.
President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has succinctly told innovators and entrepreneurs during the Legatum Centre for Development conference held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that innovation and entrepreneurship were key drivers of economies.
“The growth and success of new and existing businesses thrives on innovation while entrepreneurship on the other hand provides the vision that turns innovative ideas into reality,” he said recently when delivering a keynote address at a recent conference held in Boston, United States of America under the theme: Innovation in Global Growth Markets; Charting New Pathways to Prosperity through Entrepreneurship.
The theme, he relayed was in tandem with Botswana’s aspirations and broader narrative of Africa’s rise to being globally competitive and becoming a true contributor and player to global prosperity.
To this end, he told his audience that Botswana was actively pursuing like-minded people and institutions like MIT to nurture a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“We therefore recognise the extreme importance of emulating the example of Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship, “he said expressing Botswana’s wish to collaborate with the centre to advance entrepreneurs.
President Masisi expressed the wish to have the centre set up in Botswana.
Ministry of Entrepreneurship permanent secretary, Mr Kabelo Ebineng who spoke with BOPA on the fringes of the conference said working with MIT would help scale up research and development in Botswana and prop-up the country to a high-income status come 2036.
President Masisi is in the United States of America on a three-legged working visit that will also take him to New York and Dallas, Texas.
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