10 Feb 2025

Through the proposed National Fund of Funds, the creatives will have access to funding tailored to the industry’s unique needs.

Whether one is a fashion designer, digital content creator, filmmaker, or musician, there will be better financial support to help grow their business and take their work to a global audience.

Vice President who is also Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolatlhe said when delivering the 2025/26 Budget Speech yesterday, emphasising that the creatives had the potential to generate employment and foster innovation.

The creative industry serves as a driver of economic growth, social transformation and cultural preservation of Botswana, Mr Gaolathe said.

He said Botswana possessed a rich and compelling tradition of song, poetry, dress, storytelling, dance, design, painting, art, craftsmanship, beading, rhetoric, comedy and performance therefore the time had come to tap into the country’s indigenous creativity and export the culture through film jewellery and art among others.

Mr Gaolathe said the country had produced some of the finest soloists, DJs, recording artists, and actors who were following in the footsteps of literary giants like Ratsie Setlhako, Ponatshego Mokane, and L.D. Raditladi.

To fully unlock the potential of the industry, he mentioned that government was also considering new legislation to help creatives monetise their work in the digital space and such could mean better copyright protection, easier ways to sell music and art online, and new platforms to showcase local talent to the world.

Additionally, he said the government was planning to invest in infrastructure to support the creative industry and that could include modern recording studios, performance spaces, film production hubs, and art galleries.

With these facilities, Mr Gaolathe said that Botswana’s creatives would no longer have to look outside the country for resources to grow their careers.  ENDS