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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
Depression is real; let's take care of our mental health

It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...

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