Call for Applications: Botswana Innovation Fund

The Botswana Innovation Fund (BIF) is a grant scheme established by the Government of Botswana to support innovation and technology advancement in the country. BIF was established through a statutory instrument in 2017 and was fully operationalized in 2018.  

The Fund promotes innovation through technology, product and business development in the private sector by providing cash grants to companies registered under the BDIH as well as universities and research organization rendering services to the BDIH registered companies. 

The Fund issues grants to support innovators with working prototypes to progress them towards pre-commercial level where they can attract other funding instruments, e.g. venture capital, angel investments, debt/equity from finance institutions and mentorship from net-worth individuals who are interested in the solutions.  

The Botswana Innovation Fund informs innovators that starting 17 March 2023, they may now submit applications for funding on a rolling basis.  This process invites all interested innovators and entrepreneurs with innovative and/or technology-driven solutions that need seed funding to apply at any time during the year. 
 

BIF FOCUS AREAS 
- Botswana Innovation Fund seeks applications that address key national and or global challenges from local solutions providers. The challenges should be addressed by innovative solutions. 
- BIF applications place emphasis on facilitation of local Intellectual Property development and registration, innovative solutions at prototype development, technology transfer, and pre-commercialisation.  
 
We are seeking innovative solutions that have completed Technology Readiness Level (TRL 1-3) early-stage research, and now require funding for development stages (TRL 4-6) and Pre commercialisation (TRL 7-8).  
  
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: 
- Botswana registered companies 
- All entities whose project proposals shall be shortlisted will be required to register as BDIH members.  
- Intellectual Property shall reside in Botswana 
- General Selection Criteria for Projects 
- Solutions to address National or Global challenges  
- Beneficiaries to be in line with the BIF guidelines 
- Towards the development of working prototypes with potential registrable intellectual property post the BIF funding phase.  
- Projects proposals shall be with projects budget and timelines 
- Projects from TRL 3 (Proof of Concept) to Pre-Commercialisation (TRL 8) 
 
Submitted proposals will be considered against the following criteria:  
Required: 

• Market Need  
• Value Proposition (a clear path towards operationalizing the product on-the-ground) 
• Team Composition and Roles 
• Customer Validation  
• Clear Revenue Streams 
• Alignment with Key Govt Objective/National Need 
• Social Impact Identify a specific problem/challenge statement or need
• Articulation of proposed solution and approach 
• A cohort-based approach will be used to enroll successful applicants 

APPLICATION PROCESS  

All applicants should complete an application form on the Jot Form Portal.  Applications will not be received by hand or email. 

NOTE: Botswana Innovation Fund Guidelines, application evaluation criteria and Questions & Answers are available on the BIH website.