Mmegi: What informed the development of the Middle-Class Strategy and when did the consultation on this start?
Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI): In 2018, the government decided to develop the Strategy for the Development of the Middle Class in Botswana. The idea was informed by the realisation that most government policies and programmes in the last 10 years were predominantly targeting groups like the youth, women and people living with disabilities. There were no programmes specifically designed and targeting the middle class even though they have a competitive advantage for entrepreneurship emanating from both tangible and intangible assets in their possession. The intangible assets include managerial experience, expert knowledge and education, while tangible assets include land, vehicles and housing, all of which may support business start-up. MITI was tasked to develop the strategy and undertook a situational analysis study for the development of the study. Consequently, the report from the study was used to draft the strategy.
