Botswana took an important step toward advancing innovation-driven education with the launch of the BIUST Student Entrepreneurship Fellowship, an initiative inaugurated at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST). Speaking at the event, Professor Agreement L. Jotia, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, said the fellowship represents a powerful reimagining of how higher education can meaningfully contribute to national progress. He described the moment as one of possibility and promise, fully aligned with the transformative priorities of Botswana’s new government.
Professor Jotia noted that Botswana stands at a critical juncture. While the nation has achieved much through natural resource wealth, its long-term prosperity must come not from what lies beneath its soil, but from the knowledge, creativity, and innovative capacity of its people. He emphasised that this is why the new administration has placed STEAM education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, at the centre of its education reform agenda. Integrating the arts into traditional STEM fields, he explained, cultivates creativity, design thinking, and advanced problem-solving, all of which are essential skills in a rapidly changing world.
He affirmed that the Ministry of Higher Education is fully aligned with this vision. The ministry’s mandate is to develop human capital that is innovative, entrepreneurial, and capable of driving Botswana’s transition into a knowledge-based economy. Professor Jotia stressed that institutions of higher learning must produce not only graduates but creators, innovators, and leaders. This, he said, is exactly what the fellowship embodies, highlighting the exceptional potential of the inaugural group of Fellows.
Central to the programme’s development is the partnership between the Government of Botswana and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), through the Kuo Sharper Centre for Entrepreneurship and Prosperity. While the BIUST Fellowship draws inspiration from MIT’s globally recognised Foundry Fellowship, Professor Jotia emphasised that it is not a replica but a contextualised adaptation. It has been designed to meet Botswana’s unique needs and those of the African continent—youthful demographics, the urgent need for diversification, and immense potential for innovation across economic sectors. This collaboration exemplifies the future of higher education: a fusion of global expertise and local ambition, where ideas born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are adapted to serve communities from Palapye to Maun and beyond.
Professor Jotia highlighted that the launch of the Fellowship comes at a pivotal moment. Botswana’s new administration has committed itself to an ambitious reform agenda through the Botswana Economic Transformation Program (BETP). This agenda aims to diversify the economy, create sustainable jobs, grow export-oriented industries, and ensure equitable prosperity. The BIUST Student Entrepreneurship Fellowship is designed as a direct instrument of this agenda, aligning strongly with national priorities and with the Ministry’s mission.
He noted that the Fellowship blends rigorous academic training with hands-on entrepreneurship, engaging Fellows in market discovery, prototype design, business modelling, and venture building, precisely the kind of active learning the government envisions for higher education. With its STEAM-based approach, the programme ensures that Fellows approach problem-solving holistically, whether they are designing climate-smart agricultural technologies, developing digital health platforms, or engineering new manufacturing processes. This model reflects the government’s belief that STEAM education is the foundation of a resilient, innovative economy.
Each Fellow is guided by mentors from academia, industry, and policy sectors, a design intended to bridge the gaps between research, commercialisation, and regulation. This mirrors Botswana’s National System of Innovation, which seeks seamless collaboration among universities, businesses, and government to bring ideas to market. The programme’s focus on agritech, renewable energy, digital technologies, minerals beneficiation, health innovation, and advanced manufacturing is intentional. These are priority sectors identified under the BETP as key to Botswana’s future competitiveness. Concentrating entrepreneurial talent in these areas ensures that innovation directly contributes to diversification and industrialisation.
Professor Jotia explained that the Fellowship encourages innovation immersions and pilot projects that allow Fellows to test their solutions in real environments—on farms, in clinics, and in factories. This approach accelerates learning, reduces regulatory friction, and speeds the journey from idea to impact. Fellows will also study export markets and regional value chains from the beginning, positioning their ventures for growth beyond Botswana’s borders.
Addressing the Fellows, Professor Jotia described them as pioneers of something truly historic and as living proof of the new national direction. He said they represent the future of Botswana: young people equipped with STEAM competencies, entrepreneurial mindsets, and the determination to tackle Africa’s grand challenges.
On behalf of the Government of Botswana and the Ministry of Higher Education, he expressed honour in participating in the launch of this pioneering programme, delivered in partnership with MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Entrepreneurship and Prosperity but proudly adapted to serve Botswana and the broader African continent. He concluded by expressing hope that the fellowship will become a cornerstone of Botswana’s STEAM-powered transformation, a catalyst for innovation and enterprise, and a source of solutions that improve lives and inspire national progress.