BIH empowers young innovators
Keikantse Lesemela | Thursday October 30, 2014 16:10
Speaking during a workshop hosted by BIH yesterday, Director at the Department of Information Technology, Selefo Sabone said youths in Botswana had excellent innovative ideas but most of them were not on par with those in global markets.
“We need to improve on our products rather than depend on imports. We have potential to create our own products and solve the problems we face in the country,” he said.
Sabone noted that participants were expected to have identified their errors and learn more details of what should be in their proposals. The participants interacted with different experts from various fields and discussed issues related to business.
The workshop was aimed at empowering young technology entrepreneurs who had been selected to be part of the second phase of the Young Innovators Competition.
The competition was also expected to encourage young people to develop and implement business concepts and models, which had not yet been pursued locally.
BIH Marketing Director, Ambrose Makgonatsotlhe, said many innovations from Botswana were rejected because they did not meet international standards.
“The ideas should be well researched to meet all the market needs. Presenting a brilliant idea is not enough, unless certain entrepreneurship parameters are met,” he stressed.
He added that young people had the potential to transition the country from a consumer to developer based market. “We should change our mindsets and devise innovative ideas to give Botswana a competitive edge in the global market,” he said.