Leading Botswana’s Digital Future

Jürgen Peschel

Chief Executive Officer

Botswana Telecommunications Corporation

Africa’s digital story is one of the most compelling in the world right now. Across the continent, technology is enabling countries to leapfrog traditional development pathways – from mobile money and data-led connectivity to cloud services, automation and secure digital infrastructure. This progress is changing how people access services, how businesses reach markets and how governments serve their citizens. Botswana has the stability, institutions and ambition to be at the forefront of this transformation, and BTC has a central role to play in making that future possible.

Technology transformation cannot succeed without cultural transformation. At BTC, we are moving from a utility mindset, focused on keeping the network running, to a partnership mindset measured by how well our customers perform because of us. This requires investment in technical capability, talent and consultative problem-solving. This responsibility also extends to our more than 39,000 Batswana investors.

As Botswana’s national telecommunications provider, BTC is more than a network operator. We connect and digitally tranform businesses, Government institutions and communities; support critical services; and provide the digital foundation needed for economic diversification. Our investments in connectivity, cloud hosting, cybersecurity and data sovereignty are helping Botswana compete for regional investment while enabling sectors such as financial services, tourism, logistics, mining, agriculture and healthcare to innovate and grow. With infrastructure that reaches across the country and links into the SADC corridor, BTC positions Botswana as a secure and dependable digital gateway for Southern Africa.

When BTC grows revenue, strengthens service quality and invests sustainably in infrastructure, the value created is shared broadly. Every decision about where we invest, which markets we prioritise and how we serve our customers therefore carries significance beyond the balance sheet. Telecommunications progress and shareholder prosperity are connected: a stronger BTC supports a more inclusive, competitive and digitally enabled Botswana. The digital future we are working toward is practical and achievable: secure digital public services; world-class, locally hosted financial infrastructure; and industries using automation, connected technologies and data to improve productivity and widen access. Botswana can become a regional anchor for digital infrastructure built with stability, sovereignty and long-term purpose.

Through BTC Business, we are strengthening our focus on enterprise customers with dedicated solutions, accountable relationship management and a partnership model centred on business outcomes. Our nationwide reach, local knowledge and understanding of Botswana’s regulatory and commercial environment give us an advantage that scale alone cannot provide. We are also investing in the skills and culture required to move from a traditional utility mindset to one in which success is measured by how effectively we enable our customers to perform. Our ambition is not simply to be the largest operator, but to be the region’s most trusted digital partner.

Achieving this vision will require sustained infrastructure investment across government, development finance institutions and the private sector, together with talent development and stronger collaboration between education and industry. Above all, Botswana must act with urgency and convert its stability, strong institutions and growing private sector into decisive progress. BTC is committed to being part of that answer, not as a spectator, but as a partner already building, investing and showing up for our clients, our economy and the future Botswana deserves. Botswana’s Digital Gateway is not merely a brand promise; it is the role BTC is actively playing in advancing the country and connecting it to the region.

For enterprise customers, trust is built on accountability as much as technology. Decision-makers need confidence that their partner understands the local environment and will respond when pressure is highest. BTC Business formalises this commitment through dedicated solutions, structured onboarding and accountable relationship management; combining national reach with responsiveness that global scale alone cannot replicate.

Additionally, to bring this closer to home, at BTC we provide cybersecurity awareness training to staff members to strengthen digital ethics and responsible technology use. This initiative reflects our belief that empowering people for the future requires not only access to technology, but awareness on to stay safe.