Research, Technology and Communications

The Botswana Government is committed to positioning Botswana as an economy driven by innovation to attract investment, grow the economy and promote interaction between local and international companies.

Botswana has invested in a world-class multi-service telecommunications system that facilitates provision of services remotely. The telecommunications industry is liberalized with service providers competing in the market for fixed, mobile, and internet services. International communications links Botswana to the rest of the world and international connectivity is available through satellite and terrestrial links to the nearest submarine cable system.

The Government has mobilized funds to provide high capacity international connectivity through participating in undersea cables initiatives off the East and West Coasts of Africa. The country has also invested in international connectivity through shareholdings in undersea cables, which should increase competition and further reduce the cost of telecommunications in the sub-region. Through the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), Botswana is part of the Eastern African Submarine Systems (EASSy) consortium. EASSy is a submarine cable system linking Southern, Eastern and Northern Africa to global submarine networks. EASSy will enable regional backhaul to provide terrestrial links for landlocked countries. Once the system is in place, Botswana will enjoy lower costs of connectivity, high speed broadband which is cheaper that the currently used satellite.

To further position Botswana to compete effectively in global markets various programmes and policies on information and communication technologies have been developed and are being implemented to drive the diversification of the economy. These include the Botswana Innovation Hub which is envisioned to become the leading African destination for innovative businesses.

The Botswana Innovation Hub positions Botswana as an attractive location for technology-driven and knowledge-intensive businesses, to develop and compete in the global markets. The focus area is ICT-enabled services, including Call Centres and Business Process Outsourcing, but also supporting Knowledge Intensive Business Services.