How to Make The Incubator Business Model Work In Botswana

How to make the incubator business model work in Botswana. Over the last few years, spurred on by the need to support technology startups as it aims to transition from a “resource-based” to a “knowledge-based” economy, from contributions from both the public and private sector, several startup incubators and accelerators have been set up in the country, especially in the capital Gaborone. Despite this commendable support for entrepreneurial growth which the country desperately needs, the impact of these incubators and accelerators is still to be felt or seen.

Botswana is not the only country where incubator and accelerator programs are failing to achieve their mandates that include fostering innovation, aiding businesses that will contribute to job creation, and attracting investments for those businesses, etc. Across Africa and even Europe where the programs have been ongoing for much longer than here, there are still challenges of how to make them more efficient and several learnings can be acquired from these challenges to greatly improve the Botswana model.

The first issue to address is the disconnect between the mandate of incubators and accelerators and what metrics are currently being used as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the programs. Instead of using the aforementioned metrics of innovation and job creation of startups being supported by accelerators and incubators, much focus and measure of success seem to be directed at how many entrepreneurs come in and graduate out of these programs.

With Botswana having huge unemployment rates which will not get better any time soon in light of the economic stagnancy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for efficient incubator and accelerator programs that will boost entrepreneurial activity and contribute significantly to job creation cannot be overstated enough. However, if the programs are to be run like they currently are, their existence will prove to be of very little benefit.

An efficient regulatory framework is another way to make incubators and accelerators better serve their mandate. It is a regulatory framework that will push sponsoring corporates to rope in qualified, knowledgeable, and skilled staff to run these programs. Through these well-equipped individuals, entrepreneurs can then benefit from their skills and knowledge to then be able to develop their idea or innovation into a market-ready product that will have a far-reaching impact and eventually contribute to the country’s economic growth.