Botswana has beaten three other countries on the continent to host the prestigious Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) awards in June. The trio that had expressed interest to host is Ghana, Mauritius, and Kenya. The IPA is a landmark programme of the African Innovation Foundation, which the organisation says fits within its purpose of catalysing the innovation spirit of Africa. The date of the event is still to be confirmed.
Among aspects that were looked at when selecting the host was the country’s innovation readiness, entrepreneurial and business climate, availability of local and private institutions for partnerships. “We also looked at accessibility,” IPA Director Pauline Mujawamariya Koebl said.
Botswana’s nomination and subsequent decision to award the bid to host the awards did not come as a surprise because the country had provided all the necessary foundations to enable innovation to thrive in Botswana.
Koebl said the IPA sought to unveil and celebrate the ingenuity of African innovators, solving some of the continent’s most intractable challenges and providing market driven solutions to solve these problems. “Launched in 2011, the Innovation Prize for Africa is now recognised as one of the most prestigious innovation awards in Africa,” she stated.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure Science and Technology, Dikagiso Mokotedi, noted that Botswana’s success to host this milestone awards came about because the country had laid strong foundations in Science Technology and Innovation through a number of key interventions including Botswana Innovation Hub.
He said Botswana’s nomination and subsequent decision to award the bid to host the awards did not come as a surprise because the country had provided all the necessary foundations to enable innovation to thrive in Botswana.
“We remain committed to supporting innovators to reach greater heights by facilitating for development of a robust national system of innovation,” he said.
He said hosting the event will allow Botswana to showcase the “epitome of innovation in Africa here in Gaborone”.
“The event will allow local innovators, partners, inventors and the general public to appreciate Africa’s level of innovations and their funding framework while motivating our innovators,” Mokotedi said. He added that the event would have an immense impact on building a culture of innovation and re-igniting linkages between public, private and academic organisations.