What We're All About
The Botswana Innovation Fund (BIF) is a dedicated innovation funding instrument established to support the development and commercialisation of innovative products, services, and technology-driven solutions in Botswana. The Fund plays a catalytic role in strengthening the national innovation ecosystem by supporting promising ventures as they move from development to market readiness.
BIF supports innovation development across the post-proof-of-concept to pre-commercialisation stages, especially where innovators need capital and structured support to validate, refine, and prepare solutions for market entry. The Fund emphasises technical development, product improvement, local intellectual property development, and economic impact.
The Fund also serves to encourage companies awarded funding to transfer skills to citizen employees, providing cash grants for institutional training and on-the-job training programmes.
The Minister (MoTE) has appointed the Botswana Innovation Fund (BIF) Committee members to have oversight on implementation of the fund.
The Committee consists of independent members of the public from Private Sector and the business community.
The Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub (Secretariat) has established a Fund Administration Office and acts as the secretariat for the fund.
The Fund provides funding to Private Sector companies domiciled in Botswana. All recipients are automatically accepted as BDIH members.
Vision
To empower innovators to develop transformative homegrown solutions that create jobs, drive economic growth, and address societal challenges.
Mission
To capacitate innovators to deliver homegrown transformational solutions through funding for socio-economic impact.
Our Values
Our Objective
BIF exists to help transform innovative ideas into viable businesses and scalable solutions with social and economic impact. The Fund supports Botswana-registered private sector entities developing innovations that are technically sound, commercially relevant, and aligned with national development priorities.
Support development and commercialisation of technically sound, commercially viable innovations.
Bridge the funding gap for post-proof-of-concept to pre-commercialisation stage innovators.
Nurture a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within Botswana.
Promote local IP development, technology transfer, and commercialisation.
Create high-value jobs and contribute to economic diversification.
Strengthen the national innovation ecosystem through strategic partnerships.
Why BIF Matters
BIF helps bridge the gap between idea validation and commercial uptake — one of the most difficult stages in innovation development, where many promising solutions struggle to access funding, technical support, and market pathways.
This critical phase is exactly where BIF intervenes — providing structured financial support and ecosystem connections to help innovations reach their full potential.
Governance Structure
The BIF Committee, appointed by the responsible Minister, provides oversight on implementation of the Fund. The Committee includes independent members drawn from the private sector and business community.
Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub serves as the Secretariat and partner implementer for incubation and acceleration services.