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CEDA, YDF investments underperform – BIDPA study

Economic engine: Youth-led SMEs are the country’s future, but they face significant challenges PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Economic engine: Youth-led SMEs are the country’s future, but they face significant challenges PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

Citizen enterprise investment programmes have in the last five years performed below par, yielding few jobs and low returns for the government purse, a recent Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) draft report has established.

Government efforts to invest in Small to Medium Enterprises in the country have been mainly for job creation purposes, as the economy has long struggled with rising unemployment rates, particularly amongst youths.

The report, which is a study on the entrepreneurship landscape in Botswana, revealed that between 2017 and 2022, CEDA-youth-funded enterprises totalled 5,600 with all of these enterprises yielding a cumulative job return of 7,700.


Editor's Comment
Our digital safety is in our hands

That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...

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