Innovation Hub accredits first nine companies

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Wednesday November 9, 2011 00:00

 

The companies and institutions are Southern Mapping, the University of Botswana, AoB Academe, Weblogic, the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC), Kaelekae, RenderHeads, Tirisano Consulting and Bauer-DeWet Equipment.

These entitities will have access to special incentives, including favourable tax regimes, an innovation fund for business development, a training grant to encourage skills development and retention, and a labour dispensation to facilitate work and residence permits for expatriate professionals, among others.

Speaking at the certification ceremony at the Science and Technology Part in Gaborone yesterday, the Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Johnnie Swartz, said the aim was to nurture globally competitive companies and product lines.

'I am told that there are currently 30 expressions of interest submitted to BIH and [that] apart from the nine entities being registered here today, there are a few more plans still to be assessed,' Swartz said.

He noted that key elements considered for a company to become a part of BIH included ability to create employment and potential to develop export oriented products and services.

The minister added that science and technology parks were sources of entrepreneurship, talent, economic competitiveness and formed key elements of infrastructure supporting the growth of today's global knowledge economy.

'We are also looking outwards to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies with a global footprint as they have a consistent manner of doing business,' he said. Such entities would greatly enhance and uplift Botswana's young entrepreneurs and align their ideas to become globally competitive, Swartz added.

The Chief Executive Officer of BIH, Allan Boshwaen, said it was important to focus on technology driven and knowledge intensive businesses because those were the areas with significant potential for economic diversification and attraction of FDI.

Boshwaen said the certificate was not about picking winners but about showcasing pioneering companies and institutions that were giving concrete expression and tangible steps to achieving the BIH vision of 'being the leading African destination for innovative businesses'.

'We are also showcasing some of the key stakeholders that must talk more to each other, [and] plan together to bring our vision to a reality in a shorter timeframe.'