BITC, BIUST join forces to fast-track Botswana’s STEM economy

kutlo moagi | Monday August 24, 2026 15:38

Growing Botswana together takes many forms, and the latest is a five-year Memorandum of Understanding between the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) and the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) to turn research, investment and youth talent into real economic growth.

The MoU was signed by BITC Chief Executive Officer Keletsositse Olebile and BIUST Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Elisha Shemang, bringing together two institutions built for this moment. BITC drives investment, exports and enterprise as custodian of Brand Botswana. BIUST builds the knowledge, research and human capital behind Botswana's next generation of innovators. Together, they are positioning the country as a serious regional hub for science, technology and innovation.

The confidence behind this model is backed by evidence. International research consistently links stronger university-industry-research collaboration to higher firm productivity, faster innovation and stronger regional economic growth, while OECD analysis points to public research institutions as a critical engine of the knowledge transfer that underpins competitive, innovation-driven economies. Botswana is positioning itself to capture the same dividend.

For Botswana's youth, this is a door swinging open. The partnership backs entrepreneurship programmes, mentorship and support for student startups, giving young innovators a real runway to turn ideas into businesses and jobs. It sends a clear signal that what happens in a BIUST lab does not have to stay in the lab. The goal is graduates who leave BIUST not just be technically skilled, but ready to invest, build, and grow alongside the country.

Investment is where the partnership sharpens its edge. BITC and BIUST will identify and package investible STEM opportunities, then take them to investors through BITC's networks and international platforms. BIUST will tap into BITC's Business Intelligence Unit for market data, sector trends and investor insight, while BITC's Pusha BW platform and trade channels put BIUST's research and innovations in front of the world. A Joint Working Committee will keep the partnership on track with annual work plans and measurable targets.

The two institutions are training their sights on the technologies shaping the next economy: artificial intelligence, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, mining technology and material science. Shared demonstration platforms and test environments will let researchers and students build and trial real solutions, not just theorise about them. It is a deliberate push for Botswana to stop consuming technology and start producing it.

Research only matters if it reaches the market, and that is the next piece of the puzzle. The partnership will support applied research, industry linkages, IP protection and clear pathways from lab to commercial product. That means new industries, new competitiveness and new jobs, with Botswana's research base feeding directly into economic diversification rather than sitting on a shelf.

One project already puts that promise into practice. Rather than buying a ready-made system off the shelf, BITC and BIUST are jointly developing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) model built from the ground up in Botswana, by Batswana, for Botswana. It is a tailor-made, purpose-fitting solution shaped around how BITC actually works, and a chance for the two institutions to position themselves as leaders in local CRM development rather than customers of someone else's. It is homegrown innovation, proof that the STEM talent this partnership is investing in can build the tools the country needs.

Talent will move both ways. BITC will support BIUST in bringing in international specialists, researchers and lecturers through specialist visa facilitation, opening the door to global expertise and knowledge transfer for Botswana's own students and professionals. Local talent meets global know-how, and a stronger STEM workforce is the result.

For BITC, this is more than a signature on paper. It is proof of an ecosystem taking shape, one where universities, government, business and investors pull in the same direction, each partnership adding another building block to a shared foundation. As Botswana pushes toward a knowledge-based economy, collaborations like this one turn ambition into a practical pipeline for technology-driven investment and local capability.

The real message is for the students, researchers and young entrepreneurs standing at the centre of it all. The line between classroom, laboratory and marketplace is getting shorter. Botswana's future leaders will not just be employees, they will be researchers, entrepreneurs and builders of new industries. Through BITC and BIUST, science, investment and youth ambition are converging, one big step in growing Botswana together and helping it thrive.

*Moagi is the Executive Director, Brand Management at Botswana Investment and Trade Centre