ICL aims to raise its profile further in Botswana’s telco sector

• Says President Masisi believes in the ICT sector

Managing Director, Anderson Kgomotso, who is revered by peers in the sector, says the telecommunication company has moved from a cable and wire business to a software-driven business.

This development has presented a good opportunity for ICL Botswana,  which provides, among others, infrastructure management services, enterprise records management, and  project management.  “ICL Botswana has chosen to lead businesses including telcos in the development and implementation of digital transformation strategies and giving the telcos vision into the performance of their equipment through the provision of application performance and equipment monitoring tools,” said Kgomotso, who is one of the three shareholders of the company.

He added that ICL Botswana is building “skills and portfolio in the digital transformation space in preparation for export of the skills into the region and ultimately globally, therefore, bringing in the highly sought-after foreign revenue”. Botswana’s telecommunications sector is among the most vibrant in southern Africa, with home grown and international players competing for both private and government jobs.

But like other players in the sector, ICL Botswana, has also been affected by the outbreak of COVID 19 and the necessary lockdowns that came as a concomitant. “We have been badly affected like most businesses in Botswana, and because the market is small, we have not seen the gains in business in the ICT sector like in mature markets where technology companies have thrived because the world has been propelled forward in technology by 5 – 7 years,” Kgomotso noted.

“Once again, Botswana has been very slow to action, and in most cases projects were differed or cancelled to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.” But with COVID 19 cases declining and restrictions being lifted, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. “In the past 12 months, there has been a steady flow on the request for proposal both in tenders and demand-generated opportunities,” Kgomotso observed.

“What remains a hurdle is now the slow process of decision-making or procurement to award those opportunities.” He is even more upbeat about the domestic economy, especially plans to move Botswana into a knowledge-based economy. “Currently we have a president (Mokgweetsi Masisi) who believes in the ICT sector which was long recognised as far back as 2004,” he stated, noting that the government has announced major players to offer some services digitally as opportunities in the ICT sector.

As a leading ICT and project management company, ICL Botswana believes in empowering citizens, especially through well-coordinated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Among beneficiaries of this are Botswana Cancer Society, the government’s school feeding programme, community development (e.g. Nswazwi Bike Ride in the Central District), Monong School in the Hukuntsi area that the company has adopted, and mentoring youth-owned companies.