Innovation is an essential driver of economic progress. In addition to the fact that innovation allows economies to stay relevant in today’s competitive markets, it also plays an important role in economic growth. The ability to resolve critical problems depends on new innovations and this is now needed more than ever. With ever-changing technology, new trends keep on popping up at a faster rate. The only way to survive and keep up with change is to innovate.

The government of Botswana has already set the foundation for innovation by approving and adopting the Fourth Industrial Revolution Digital Transformation Strategy (SmartBots) to gain a strong position within Africa and the world as a “Smart Society”. Broader use of technology is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years under the National Vision 2036 goal to transform Botswana from an upper-middle-income country to high-income status by 2036. The country is basing these aspirations on innovation, placing it at the heart of its SmartBots strategy.

However, there is work that needs to be done on the ground. The innovation ecosystem in Botswana is uncoordinated and under developed, especially in its readiness and ability to support innovations moving from original idea to market. This has resulted in low levels of innovation across the economy, including public services.

To help in tackling these issues, the Office of the President – through its SmartBots Implementation Team – requested technical assistance from the Africa RISE programme to develop its National Innovation Capability Framework. Such a framework, experience in other countries shows, can lead to better coordination and improved effectiveness of the innovation ecosystem; it will also bring benefits for MSMEs’ innovation capacities and competitiveness.

Since June of this year, a consultant has been working with the SmartBots team to review the existing innovation ecosystem, including looking at the Botswana Digital Innovation Hub as the potential innovation arm for SmartBots. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the factors which influence the innovation performance in the country, including key market players; based on that, propose a more effective ecosystem, that will provide the building blocks for the development of the National Innovation Capability Framework.