Botswana continues its commitment to digital development with the launch of an online performance dashboard system, a collaborative effort between the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This platform provides an instant overview of key performance indicators, contributing to effective digital governance in the country.
"SmartBots": Catalyzing digital transformation across economy, government, and society
Ranked among middle-income countries, Botswana has embraced an ambitious strategy called "SmartBots" to catalyze digital transformation across the economy, government, and society. A crucial aspect of this strategy is universal connectivity, symbolized by major projects such as the deployment of a 12,000 km fiber optic backbone and the village connectivity program aiming to connect 500 villages by 2025.
In education, Botswana actively participates in the UNICEF and ITU's GIGA program to connect all schools to the Internet, with over half of the schools already connected. The government is also committed to providing over 500 online services to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of public services, while working on an electronic identification system to enhance citizen security.
Additionally, Botswana is investing in research and innovation with initiatives like the Research Fund and institutions like BITR and the Botswana Digital Innovation Hub to foster local innovation.
"Our vision is to become a knowledge and technology-based economy”
The launch of the performance dashboard marks a significant milestone in Botswana's efforts to become a digital leader in Africa. As Thulagano Merafe Segokgo, Minister of Communications, Knowledge, and Technology of Botswana, explains: "Our vision is to become a knowledge and technology-based economy. It is our human capital that will drive growth."
Emphasizing the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in economic and social transformation, the minister stated that Botswana is firmly committed to becoming a major player on the African digital stage.
"Our human capital will be the engine of growth".
“In this regard, his ministry has a clear mandate, articulated around three pillars: communications, knowledge, and technology. Emphasizing the importance of developing indigenous knowledge, in addition to academic knowledge, the country is investing in research and innovation, essential drivers of economic growth. "The contribution of ICTs to GDP is currently less than about 5%, but we should be able to increase this contribution to 10%. As part of Vision 2036, we want to boost the contribution of the knowledge and ICT sector to the economy. So far, Botswana's success has relied on minerals, particularly diamonds, and we really want to change that, to make it a knowledge-exporting country, a knowledge-based economy, and it is our human capital that will drive growth."