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The Ministry of Entrepreneurship (Botswana)
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship was established on November 11, 2022 to coordinate and centralize efforts to promote skill development, employment creation, and entrepreneurship efforts in Botswana.
What are the main aims and objectives?
The department was established for several key reasons:
- To coordinate and promote skill development, employment creation, and entrepreneurship efforts in Botswana.
- To provide leadership and overall policy direction, strategy, and standards on business development in the country.
- To focus on developing Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and coordinating policies related to their growth.
- To promote wealth creation and advance citizen economic empowerment.
- To coordinate value chains and support women's economic empowerment.
The establishment of this dedicated ministry reflects the Botswana government's recognition of entrepreneurship as a critical driver of economic growth and job creation. President Mokgweetsi Masisi emphasized that while the government had previously implemented various initiatives to promote entrepreneurial development, it became important to allocate a single ministry with the specific mandate to deal with entrepreneurship
How does the program work?
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship in Botswana is responsible for several key areas related to promoting and developing entrepreneurship in the country:
- Coordinating and promoting skill development, employment creation, and entrepreneurship efforts in Botswana.
- Policy creation and coordination for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) development.
- Promoting wealth creation and advancing citizen economic empowerment.
- Coordinating value chains and supporting women's economic empowerment.
- Providing leadership and overall policy direction, strategy and standards on business development in the country.
- Reviewing existing SMME policies and programs to create a more conducive environment for business development and support emerging entrepreneurs.
- Focusing on enterprise development, identifying new sectors, and job creation.
- Coordinating value chains in strategic sectors like minerals, animal production, indigenous products, hides and skin processing, and tourism.
- Developing inclusive market systems and adopting market-oriented reforms to position SMMEs for growth into formal value chains.
- Overseeing key agencies like the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA).
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship acts as a focal point within government for all areas of policy relating to enterprise and consequently interacts with several other government departments and agencies to fulfill its mandate of promoting entrepreneurship and economic development. Some of the key interactions include:
- The ministry works closely with the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), which are agencies under its purview. These agencies play crucial roles in supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs in Botswana.
- It collaborates with the Department of Research, Science and Technology (DRST) under the Ministry of Communications, Knowledge and Technology to promote innovation and technological advancement in entrepreneurship.
- The ministry coordinates with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) on matters related to business development, trade policies, and industrial growth.
- There is interaction with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) regarding budgetary allocations and financial policies that affect entrepreneurship.
- The ministry engages with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MESD) to promote entrepreneurship education and skills development.
- It works with the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs (MLHA) on issues related to employment creation through entrepreneurship.
- The ministry collaborates with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) to promote entrepreneurship in the tourism sector and ensure sustainable business practices.
- It interacts with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to support agribusiness and agricultural entrepreneurship initiatives.
- The ministry also engages with various other departments and agencies such as the Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH), Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI), and the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) to foster innovation, research, and human capital development in the entrepreneurship sector.
These interactions are aimed at creating a cohesive and supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Botswana, aligning with the government's vision of economic diversification and growth through entrepreneurship.
What is the overall cost?
The ministry has an annual budget of 1 billion Botswana Pula (approx. $75 million).
How was it implemented?
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship iwas created on November 11, 2022 as part of the government's efforts to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in the country. Since its inception, the ministry has been led by Minister Karabo Gare.
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship was formulated with a clear mandate to coordinate and promote skill development, employment creation, and entrepreneurship efforts in Botswana. It was also tasked with policy creation, Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) development and coordination, wealth creation, citizen economic empowerment, coordination of value chains, and women's economic empowerment.
What impact has been measured?
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship is still relatively new, therefore there has been little evaluation of its activities to date. However, some early achievements and initiatives of the ministry include:
- Strategic Development Plan: The ministry has developed its inaugural Strategic Development Plan for 2022-2025, which outlines goals and strategies for the next three years.
- Focus on key areas: The ministry has identified strategic sectors to coordinate value chains, promote business enterprises, and achieve diversity. These include minerals, animal production, indigenous products, hides and skin processing, and tourism sub-sectors.
- Collaboration with private sector: The ministry has collaborated with De Beers to hold an Entrepreneurship Insights Workshop, aimed at gaining insights from entrepreneurs to provide meaningful inputs to the ministry's Entrepreneurship Policy, which is under review.
What lessons can be learned?
The creation of this ministry has been seen as a catalyst for success for businesses looking to trade in Botswana, with the government aiming to foster a conducive environment for doing business and serve as a one-stop center for digitization, technology, innovation, and disruption.
The establishment of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship was welcomed by entrepreneurs in Botswana, who saw it as a long-overdue development. However, there were also calls for the ministry to be inclusive and to have proper governance structures in place to ensure its effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate.
