AAI's New Initiative with Botswana & MIT

The Africa America Institute is excited to announce our partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Republic of Botswana. The collaboration will work to forward the country’s goals of recentering their economy around the fostering and exporting of knowledge and information. The president of Botswana, His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, announced his goals for the partnership at a conference held by the center in Boston on April 30. AAI will function as a trusted partner bridging the two institutions. Last week, MIT and Botswana signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize the initiative. The work to come aims to further both Botswana’s national goals and the mission of the Center for Development & Entrepreneurship, who believe that “entrepreneurs and their market-driven solutions are critical to advancing economic and social progress in the developing world.” 

In his address to the conference, President Masisi stressed the importance of shifting his country’s economy to a knowledge-based one. Rather than continue as a material-based economy whose ability to export drives demand, President Masisi hopes to create an economy “driven by science, innovation, and entrepreneurship.”

President Masisi spoke about how his own country and other African nations have historically been dismissed for their ability to be international contributors to market innovation on the global stage. He refuted, “For us, innovation is in this regard not a privilege for the few, but a powerful tool that should be accessible to all.” Already, Botswana boasts a robust digital infrastructure, providing internet access to the entire nation. The nation has already committed fifty-seven hectares of land to the Botswana Digital and Informational Hub, a physical and infrastructure-based furthering of their initiative. In the long term, President Masisi believes that Botswana shall not simply sustain its economy, but establish itself as a key player in overall global prosperity.

Center for Development & Entrepreneurship advisor Felicia Appenteng and her colleagues share this belief. In an interview with AAI, Appenteng spoke about the collaborative relationship she looks forward to having with President Masisi and his government. She stressed that MIT aims to support and foster innovation that already exist in Botswana in hopes that their expertise can further highlight these assets through the process of “co-creation.”

Appenteng sees this collaboration as an opportunity to support the nation as it works to become a global and technological hub. Botswana is uniquely positioned within the African continent as a nation with strong economic agency and its collaboration with AAI and MIT can position its resources to further the country’s overall goal.

On top of their pivotal goals within the initiative, Appenteng highlighted how genuinely enjoyable the brainstorming and collaborative experience with President Masisi and his government has been thus far. Both sides are entering the co-creational space with excitement and enthusiasm over the near-limitless possibilities of what can be achieved. During her meetings with President Masisi and the Botswana government, Appenteng shared she experienced “this real sense of curiosity and excitement and absolute belief in the strength of their people has been really wonderful to see.”