UNCTAD ICT Policy Review and National E-commerce Strategy for Botswana
With the rapid uptake of information and communications technologies (ICTs), growing digitalization in both developed and developing countries, and the catalytic role of new technological innovations in business and consumer markets, global value chains, and international trade, e-commerce has been increasingly transforming the global economy, affecting economic growth, competitiveness and socio-economic development. The accelerated expansion of e-commerce has been further fueled by the Covid-19 crisis. In addition to seeking to leverage ICTs and digital technologies to support Covid-19 recovery, the Government of Botswana has long recognized ICTs as enablers of national economic and social development and as a tool for strengthening the country’s competitiveness. Committed to creating an environment conducive to supporting e-commerce, Botswana has in the past decades invested in and strengthened its ICT sector, established key legal and regulatory measures, and now stands positioned to expand its e-commerce sector. At the request of Botswana’s Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), UNCTAD launched an UNCTAD ICT Policy Review (ICTPR) Strategy to assist Botswana in developing its national e-commerce strategy in March 2019. The national e-commerce strategy set out in this publication aims to leverage Botswana’s full potential for e-commerce, to boost economic growth and socio-economic gains, diversify the economy, raise Botswana’s competitiveness in the global economy, and support its recovery from the pandemic crisis. The strategy is the result of technical assistance work delivered by UNCTAD supported by the SADC Trade Related Facility (TRF Fund) funded by the European Union.
