Science, innovation and technology in Botswana covers the historical development of science policy, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, space technology, financial technology, and innovation ecosystems in Botswana, a landlocked country in southern Africa. The Republic of Botswana was one of the first countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to adopt a science and technology policy, doing so in 1998, and updated it in 2011. The country has diversified significantly from a diamond-dependent economy toward a knowledge-based economy since the 2000s, with milestones including the launch of its first national satellite in 2025.

Socio-economic context The Republic of Botswana has one of the longest post-independence histories of political stability in Africa. A multiparty democracy, it is deemed the continent's best-performing country by the Corruption Perceptions Index and ranked third in 2014 in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

At the time of independence in 1966, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world. A year later, diamonds were discovered and have since become a pillar of the economy. Between 2009 and 2013, GDP per capita rose from $12,404 to $15,247 (in purchasing power parity dollars, 2011 constant prices), boosted by the global commodity boom, corresponding to a leap of 23 percent in GDP per capita over that period. Within the SADC region, only the Seychelles and Mauritius have higher levels of average income. Although real GDP per capita is relatively high and growing, the country ranks second in the SADC for inequality and there is widespread poverty. The unemployment rate stood at 18 percent in 2013, and Botswana's incidence of HIV at 18.5 percent of the population was among the highest in the world according to the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey of 2013.

Economic diversification As of 2015, Botswana was the world's top producer of diamonds by value. Despite heavy reliance on the mining sector, Botswana has escaped the resource curse to a large extent by delinking public expenditure and revenue from the mining sector, investing diamond revenues in a savings fund to enable an anti-cyclical fiscal policy and in public goods, infrastructure, and universal scholarship schemes that fully subsidise education at all levels.

Diversifying the economy was made a priority of the Tenth National Development Plan for 2009 to 2016, with the government considering private-sector participation critical and R&D the most effective way of fuelling entrepreneurship. In 2010, the government published its Economic Diversification Drive. In 2011, it revised the Companies Act to allow company registration without company secretaries, reducing start-up costs, and introduced a points-based system to allow skilled expatriates to work in Botswana.

Diversification is also a priority of the Eleventh National Development Plan for 2017 to 2023, guided by Vision 2036 (2016), Botswana's blueprint for achieving high-income status by 2036. Focus areas of comparative advantage include financial services, education, health, diamonds, beef, tourism, and mining. Special economic zones are being developed around Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and in the Padamatenga area to attract investment.

Science, technology and innovation policy

National innovation system Botswana is considered as having an evolving national innovation system. It was ranked 87th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025. The following table shows the status of national innovation systems across the Southern African Development Community as assessed in 2015. CategoryCountriesDescriptionFragileDemocratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Swaziland, ZimbabweFragile systems tend to be characterised by political instability, from external threats or internal political schisms.ViableAngola, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, ZambiaViable systems encompass thriving systems but also faltering ones, in a context of political stability.EvolvingBotswana, Mauritius, South AfricaIn evolving systems, countries are mutating through the effects of policy, and their mutation may also affect the emerging regional system of innovation. Source: Mbula-Kraemer, Erika and Scerri, Mario (2015) Southern Africa. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030. UNESCO, Paris, Table 20.5.

National science and technology policy In 2008, the Minister of Communication, Science and Technology requested UNESCO's assistance in reviewing the country's first Science and Technology Policy, which dated from 1998. Botswana published its updated National Policy on Research, Science and Technology in 2011, within a UNESCO project sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development.

The policy was considered to have achieved some advances but to have failed to overcome insufficient investment in R&D and insufficient job and wealth creation. The revised 2011 policy was consolidated with the 2005 Botswana Research, Science and Technology Plan and has four main thrusts: development of a coordinated and integrated approach to science, technology and innovation planning; development of STI indicators in accordance with the Frascati Manual and Oslo Manual of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; the launch of regular participatory foresight exercises; and the strengthening of institutional structures responsible for policy monitoring and implementation.

In 2013, the Minister of Education and Skills Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi highlighted challenges facing Botswana at the launch of a UNESCO study of the country's national innovation system, citing the need to improve intellectual property protection and commercialisation of R&D products, and noting the funding dilemma of weighing R&D investment against immediate development needs such as healthcare infrastructure. The Botswana Academy of Sciences was launched in November 2015.

Digital legislation (2025) In August 2025, Botswana's Parliament passed two significant pieces of digital legislation. The Digital Services Bill promotes equitable access to affordable digital services, particularly in underserved communities, and establishes a framework for a Digital Services Authority. The Cybersecurity Bill establishes structures to promote cybersecurity capacity building across the country. Both bills mark a significant step in the formalisation of Botswana's digital regulatory environment.

AI policy In 2025, Botswana's government was working on a national Artificial Intelligence policy following an AI Readiness Foundation initiative undertaken in partnership with UNESCO, which assessed the country's readiness in terms of methods, inclusivity, security, and alignment with national development goals. The Vice President, Ndaba Gaolathe, described the government's strategy as building an ecosystem for AI, fintech, agritech, cleantech, and health tech, with investment in infrastructure, talent, and policy support.

Telecommunications

Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (1980) The Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) was established in 1980 as a 100 percent government-owned parastatal to provide, develop, operate, and manage Botswana's national and international telecommunications services. For its first sixteen years, BTC operated as the sole telecommunications provider in the country. Its network was built on an all-digital microwave and fibre optic system with digital exchanges at the main centres, comprising 7,300 kilometres of microwave radio and fibre optic links.

Liberalisation and mobile competition (1996 to 1999) In 1996, an amendment of the BTC Act repealed BTC's monopoly and introduced competition through two cellular joint venture consortiums: Mascom Wireless and Vista Communications, later renamed Orange Botswana. Both were awarded fifteen-year mobile operating licences with a ten-year exclusivity period. The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), initially established as the Botswana Telecommunications Authority, was created as the sector regulator. The first Internet Service Provider licences were also issued during this period. In 1999, the BTA simultaneously licensed Botswana's first two commercial FM radio stations, Yarona FM and Gabz FM.

Privatisation and expansion (2000s to 2010s) In 2006, the government decided to privatise BTC. Parliament enacted the BTC (Transition) Act in 2008, creating Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet) as a wholesale provider of national and international telecommunications infrastructure while BTC remained a retail operator. In 2008, BTC launched its own mobile network under the brand name beMOBILE. On 1 November 2012, BTC was formally converted from a statutory body into a public company limited by shares and renamed Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL), becoming the first state-owned enterprise to be privatised through a stock exchange listing when it listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange in 2016. The government currently holds 54.16 percent of issued share capital.

Since 2009, Mascom has established a network of rural community centres known as Mascom Kitsong Centres, which provide access to internet and other digital services including mobile money and computer training. By May 2018, there were 110 such centres in as many villages. In 2016, Mascom launched the e-Schools Project, which by July 2019 had connected 623 government schools to internet. In 2020, Mascom provided free internet access to the government's Covid-19 tracker system, developed in collaboration with UNICEF, the University of Oslo, and other partners.

Current market structure The telecommunications market is currently served by three Public Telecommunications Operators: BTCL, Mascom Wireless (an affiliate of South Africa's MTN Group), and Orange Botswana (backed by Orange Group). Mascom led the mobile market by subscriber numbers as of 2023. BoFiNet provides wholesale national and international infrastructure including fibre connections to businesses and homes. BOCRA reports 4G coverage at 98.2 percent of the country and 5G coverage at 41.89 percent as of 2025. The entry of SpaceX Starlink satellite internet service has extended high-speed internet access to remote areas where ground-based infrastructure has been limited.

In 2018, Parliament passed the Data Protection Act establishing the Information and Data Protection Commission, enshrining the right of citizens to access their personal data and to object to its processing.

Higher education and research

Universities In 2014, Botswana had two public and seven private universities. The University of Botswana is primarily a teaching institution. The Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), which welcomed its first 267 students in September 2012, is a research university. By the 2018/2019 academic year there were 1,881 students enrolled at BIUST, 33 percent of whom were women. BIUST's research focus areas include remote sensing of natural resources and the environment, sustainable energy and resource beneficiation, solar energy materials, applied nuclear sciences and technology, bioinformatics, data science and high performance computing, and artificial intelligence and smart systems.

Among SADC countries, Botswana committed the second-largest share of GDP to expenditure on education (9.5 percent) after Lesotho in 2009, and devoted the largest share of GDP to higher education expenditure (3.9 percent) after Lesotho. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of students enrolled in higher education rose from 22,257 to 39,894. Under the EU-funded Pan-African Planetary and Space Science Network, BIUST received a grant of €1.4 million to prepare young scientists for projects including the Square Kilometre Array.

Investment in research and development