Link to Atlas Project

Documents

Overview

Botswana has numerous market opportunities occasioned by the regional integration efforts as well as bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that have emerged in the country. What is of concern currently is the quality of exportable products and services. The non-mineral sector’s contribution to export growth and development continues to offer marginal opportunities for gaining competitive and comparative advantages, yet expanding the country’s export portfolio has always been a central policy objective to the government’s economic development programmes as witnessed by successive National Development Plans (NDPs) and the National Export Strategy (NES) 2010-2016.

The foundation for exporter development is a National Export Strategy (NES), which should take into account consider border-in issues, border issues, border-out issues and development issues. The BEDP focuses on border-in issues. The rationale for the adoption of the NES was influenced by the need to design a framework, which will embrace a holistic approach to the development of the export sector. As such, the strategy considered challenges ensuing from the need to foster sustainable development, address factors inhibiting competitiveness, address client relations concerns and respond to institutional challenges. To this end, the Strategy was approached from four perspectives; namely development focus, competitiveness focus, client perspective and institutional perspective.

The competitiveness focus defines the requirements for firms to be globally competitive and what Botswana firms need to do to meet those criteria. The client perspective focuses on Botswana exporters’ required competencies that will enable them to compete globally and cover trade finance, quality assurance, export competence and trade information. The institutional perspective focuses on the institutional support that exporters need to be globally competitive.

Export development has been highly regarded by both public and corporate policy makers. Exports play a significant role in a nation's economic prosperity. This is mainly due to the substantial macroeconomic and microeconomic benefits derived from external trade. It is critical that while current export markets continue to grow, new export markets and diversification into new export products are vital for Botswana’s economic growth and development. This implies the development of both existing and new exporters.

In 2013, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) launched a blueprint for Botswana Exporter Development Programme (BEDP), which was implemented until 2017. The programme was introduced as a national programme with the primary objective of developing the export capacity of the country to compete in regional and global markets. All relevant role players contributed significantly to the rollout and implementation of the programme. It was a programme with strategic options that used primarily to boost the number of exporters, export volumes and returns through capacity building initiatives. It targeted Botswana-based manufacturing companies that have the capacity or potential to export and assist manufacturers to compete both in regional and international markets. This programme was designed and implemented with trade promotion activities that BITC undertook with the intent of facilitating foreign market access for Botswana manufacturers. The purpose of the BEDP was to increase exports in general, but especially exports of those products and services in the National Export Strategy (NES). The focus was also on those products and services that added value to the country’s export sector, and contributed to employment and wealth creation as well as to the green economy. The implementation of the programme ended in 2017, thus prompting the need to evaluate it and use the findings and lessons learned to design and implement another phase of the programme.

In view of the above, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) with the support of UNDP requires the services of an expert external evaluation consultant to evaluate the Botswana Exporter Development Programme implemented during the period 2013-2017.