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Digital skills training can help address unemployment

Participants during BITC update on Expo2020 Dubai 2020 PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Participants during BITC update on Expo2020 Dubai 2020 PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

“Software is eating the world”, the iconic phrase from Silicon Valley’s pre-eminent venture capitalist, Marc Andreessen, captures the opportunity available to Botswana to reshape the fate of its young population.

Botswana faces the challenge of creating jobs in a limited private market, particularly for youth, with an unemployment rate of ~41%. According to Oxford Economics, the digital economy, worth $11.5 trillion globally, provides an opportunity for Botswana to empower its unemployed youth [1].

Much like India and Singapore, focusing on technology services and reskilling Botswana’s eager, educated and entrepreneurial youth could transform a nation and uplift thousands.

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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