Botswana is a small, landlocked country whose economy is heavily dependent on diamond exports. It has strong trading relationships with the EU going back many years, however, it faces challenges in a number of respects – climate change, economic diversification, relative poverty, unemployment, a need to upskill the economy and reduce its dependence on the public sector.
Botswana’s current National Development Plan targets 4 areas – promoting export led growth, more efficient government finances, building human capital and providing appropriate infrastructure.
Our priorities
The European Union focuses on two priority areas of cooperation – green transformation and economic diversification and jobs.
Green Transformation
EU support will focus on assisting the Government of Botswana to address 3 areas of action under this priority:
- address the country’s climate resilience
- unlock its renewable energy potential
- and harness its rich biodiversity and ecosystem services for decent job creation and sustainable economic growth.
Economic diversification and jobs
The second priority is aimed at backing the Government’s economic diversification drive and recovery efforts, by fostering private sector development, reducing dependence on minerals and promoting trade and investments. EU support in this field will also target the digital transition and skills development as a way to spur innovation and competitiveness across the sectors, and address the challenge of youth unemployment.
Our programmes
The Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for Botswana amounts to €13 million and a further €3 million has been allocated to support measures between 2021 and 2024.
Green Transformation
We will support new approaches to wildlife and ecosystem protection, build resilience in rural communities and at the same time contributing to economic development. Landscape and nexus approaches will be implemented.
We will also help raise awareness and develop policies on the circular and green economy. As part of this activity, we will support peer learning at national and local government levels.
Economic diversification and jobs
EU support in this sector will facilitate investment and trade promotion with the aim of diversification, reducing dependency on mineral revenues and creating decent jobs, especially for young people. Corporate Social Responsibility will be encouraged, and we also aim to support a better framework for investment, innovation, and access to markets.
We will also support Botswana towards a digital transformation to move towards a knowledge economy through support for the national SmartBots Strategy and Action Plan.
We will continue to support efforts to improve the quality and relevance of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training system. The inclusion of girls and women, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups will be emphasised in this sector.
Support measures
In addition, we will support measures to favour Civil Society target capacity building; promoting CSO involvement, human rights, gender equality, and promoting access to information amongst other areas. It is also intended to establish a Technical Cooperation Facility to support these measures.