In order to become fully operational, the Company is currently seeking to recruit core staff for the following positions: Director Corporate Services, Director Facilities, Director marketing and Registration, Director Cluster Development, and business Analyst.

Click here for more details

Address by Hon Johnie K Swartz,
Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology

Click here to view the full speech

The ICT Pitso was held on the 1st -2nd September 2011 at the Gaborone Internaitonal Convention Centre (GICC).  During the Pitso, it emerged that BIH was one of the the key government initiatives among others that private sector was looking forward to partner with to develop the government agenda on ICT.  Other issues discussed were ICT transforming Botswana into an information society and knowledge society, as a key driver of economic diversification; ICT and Citizen empowerment; the use of ICT to enhance market access, Youth ICT initiatives, Kitsong Center operations and Profesionalism as key in promoting the value of ICT in the Society.  Participants were updated on the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) – the”dot BW” domain, BTC privatisation, Global IT Report and the Internet Governance Forum.

Other discussions were around Further Liberalism of the telecommunications sector, Tariff review and their impact, Citizen Participation in ICT and the role that government shuold play in simulating activity in the ICT sector.

The Botswana Innovation Hub collaborated with the Botswana National Productivity Centre to disseminate the contents of the Global Information Technology report and Botswana’s rankings on the Report.  The Global IT Report Rankings on different ICT indices are essential for the Botswana Innovation Hub to monitor key factors that can help the country’s diversification in Science, Technology and Innovation sectors that the BIH is involved in. The BIH intends to further adopt such international indices to measure local progress in the national innovation ecosystem.  The report highlighted Botswana’s decline in networked readiness, hence the need to focus on issues like strategic partnerships with capable international companies to facilitate technology transfer.
 

Government of Botswana has set aside September as the month of Vision 2016 awareness.  This is an annual event led by the Vision Council hosted in different district around the country. This year the commemorations  held on the 3rd September 2011, took us to Mmathubudukwane in the Kgatleng District under the theme “Living the Vision- Yame le Wena”. It was officiated by the Vice President Lt. Gen Merafhe. The Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) had an opportunity to exhibit there and share knowledge on its functions and activities.

Ministry of Infrastructure, Science & Technology (MIST) held its first Research Science and Technology (RST) Pitso on the 8th September 2011 at Maharaja under the theme “The role of research, science, technology and innovation (RSTI) on economic development.” The event drew more than 200 delegates from government, the private sector and parastatals.  The Pitso offered an opportunity for stakeholders to share ideas, experiences and expertise on what direction could be taken to move science and technology in Botswana to the next level.

MIST’s mandate is to coordinate science and technology research in Botswana, hence felt the need to call stakeholders to dialogue on the future of science, technology and research in the country. Other issues discussed were private sector participation in research and development (R&D), technology transfer and commercialization, revised Research Science and Technology Policy, nuclear technology application in Botswana and the contribution of academia to R&D.
 

Botswana Innovation Hub and some of its newly registered companies will be exhibiting at the Global Expo on November 23rd – 26th, 2011.  Global Expo is the premier business exhibition arranged by the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) that draws exhibitors from around the world to Botswana and provides a platform for interaction with potential investors as well as the public.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) are delighted to announce the first Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA). The prize honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving cost in Africa.

The prize also promotes among young African men and women the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers as well as business opportunities with potentials of contributing to sustainable development in Africa.

<<Read More>>>

MoMoGabs is pleased to invite you to it's inaugural chapter gathering in Gaborone! This will be a pre-launch to the official Mobile Monday Gaborone chapter launch, which will occur in the coming months.  

The event will also act as an unofficial pre-conference networking event for early-arriving attendees of the IST-Africa Conference which will occur in Gaborone May 11-13.

The goals of this gathering are simple:

• Introduce attendees to the Mobile Monday philosophy
• Share our vision for the MoMoGabs Chapter
• Invite other interested locals to join organizing committee
• Eat, drink, and be merry!

It's also worth noting that Bull & Bush has a special on that night of Steak and Chicken for P70.  Even more reason to come join!

Botswana Innovation Hub has partnered with the Botswana IFSC for the job portal, www.botsjobs.com as part of the Skills Readiness Initiative. 

This Skills Readiness Initiative is borne of the recognition that Botswana has an immediate opportunity to leverage its human resources to establish a competitive advantage in identified sectors in Sub Saharan Africa.

The job portal is one of the four (4) components of the Skills Readiness Initiative.  The others are the:

• Annual Career Fair
• Internship Program

The Government of Botswana through the Department of Research, Science and Technology will host this year's IST-Africa. Supported by the European Commission and African Union Commission and Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE, IST-Africa 2011 will take place in Gaborone, 11 - 13 May 2011.

IST-Africa 2011 will focus on the Role of ICT for Africa's Development and specifically on Applied ICT research topics addressing major societal and economic challenges, which is part of the European Commission's Information Communications Technologies (ICT) Theme of FP7.

<<<Read More>>>