Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) says its total assets increased from P701.18mln to P870.36mln and went up by 24 percent due to investments towards construction of its Science and Technology Park.
BIH Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alan Boshwaen said private sector property development agreements signed into the BIH Science and Technology Park totalled P450 million, adding that 800 jobs were created during construction of the icon building.
According to the BIH 2014/15 annual report, the corporation is completing the transition phase of their 2013-2016 strategy which comprises of investment in key infrastructure and implementation of various innovation support, services and programmes. He also said in 2016, they intend to move to the next phase where they plan to scale up the operations based on investments made in the last three years and move the organisation towards a commercially sustainable path.
“BIH will diversify its income streams focusing into areas such as project management fees, property Investment and rental income and ICT services. These opportunities will materialise more fully upon the park becoming operational in late 2016,” Boshwaen stated.
He pointed out that as per the latest financial statements, total assets increased by 24 percent during the year under review from P701.18 million reported in the previous year to P870.36 million as at 31 March 2015. He further stated that the growth was mainly due to investment towards the construction of the science and technology park. He said revenue comprising mainly of government subvention stood at P28.66 million.
He is of the view that BIH Science and Technology Park projects and initiatives continue to show satisfactory progress at the construction of the Icon building, land developments and development of superior ICT infrastructure. He said construction of the Icon building commenced in August 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in 2016 in line to be commissioned as part of the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations. BIH CEO further said that the construction of the park is a major national project that represents a significant investment in the country’s future knowledge economy. He added that its Iconic buildings are world class, masterpiece of architecture whose designs won the 2013 Auto desk design awards.
“The hub continues to sow the seeds to create new innovative products and services. To this end some of the youthful entrepreneurs we have been supporting have captured international attention through a farm management solution, a hearing aid solution and a queuing system,” he stated.
Boshwaen stated that through its partners, BIH has trained over 3000 participants from public, private and academic institutions on topics such as intellectual property rights, innovation management and technology entrepreneurship.
