Botswana Innovation Hub to empower African Youth with IBM’s Digital Skills and Knowledge Programme
- November 1, 2018
- Posted by: jxtve
- Category: Press Release

Botswana Innovation Hub has launched the IBM Digital – Nation Africa Programme, D – NA, in Botswana. This is a free comprehensive online platform aimed at empowering African youth with skills and tools to help them design and develop innovative digital solutions, as well as helping them gain skills to match those required for the available jobs in the market.
The launch event held late September 2018 at Botswana Innovation Hub attracted more than 50 entrepreneurs, start-ups, developers and officials. They were introduced to IBM’s free, self-paced learning platform that sparks innovation.
The D – NA platform offers the citizens of Botswana a free online learning and enablement platform, allowing the users to gain IBM Digital Badges to validate their knowledge and skills. To best match the needs of all, D – NA has been implemented with three enablement segments. The first, entitled Explorers, provides users with fundamental knowledge of the key technologies, which are shaping the Digital world, such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Internet of Things. The second is called “Innovators”, and as the name indicates, is designed to provide the user with inspiration, method and means to create innovative and valuable digital solutions. The final section is call “New Collar”, referencing the fact that the digital age is creating and will create many new job roles. This section leverages the power of IBM’s own Artificial Intelligence engine, Watson. It has three key features, an engagement with Watson to build the user’s own profile, a collection of online interactive technical courses, and, again using Watson, a detailed view of the current African job
IBM developed the D – NA offering to provide the youth of Africa with the means to both join the new age and help grow their future careers. IBM has been in Africa for almost 100 years and has a strong track record of aiding local skills development and supporting national skills development programmes.
The Botswana Innovation Hub’s mandate is to support innovation and entrepreneurship development within Botswana and the D – NA platform aligns with this objective
Candidates who would like to register for the free programme can do so through the following link: ibm.biz/dna4all
Botswana Innovation Hub Brand & Communications Manager said’, “we are excited to have partnered with IBM for the benefit of our innovators and entrepreneurs, enabling them to tap into IBM’s cloud platform services and drive business growth that’s founded on innovative digital solutions. We encourage more youth to heed to the call and attend the workshops or directly connect to the D – NA portal to gain the invaluable knowledge of the 21st century’’.
Following the launch of the Digital Nation Programme, the Botswana Innovation Hub will host a series training sessions and workshops to empower youth with digital knowledge and practical skills.
About Botswana Innovation Hub
Botswana Innovation Hub has been incorporated as a company duly registered under the laws of Botswana to develop and manage Botswana’s first science and technology park. We contribute to the country’s economic development and competitiveness by creating new scientific, technological, and indigenous knowledge-based business opportunities. The Innovation Hub adds value to existing companies, foster entrepreneurship and technology transfer, generate knowledge-based jobs, and attract innovative companies and institutions to set-up their businesses at the Botswana Innovation Hub’s science and technology park.
To learn more about IBM D – NA and register for the programme:
ibm.biz/dna4all
Services provided by the TISC Network include;
- Patent information searches
- Scientific and technical literature searches
- Technology trends and monitoring
- Advisory services on intellectual property, technology transfer, innovation and commercialisation
For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:
Kemiso Ben
Brand & Communications Manager
Botswana Innovation Hub
Tel: +267 369 6413
Cell: 71321701
Email: kemiso.ben@bih.co.bw