Africa is entering a new era of Big Tech investment. For Botswana, the question has evolved beyond simply who can connect the country to the internet; it now centers on who controls the infrastructure, the data, and the economic benefits generated by that connectivity.
The continent is becoming the focal point of an intensifying technology race, as global corporations expand their stakes in connectivity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. A recent report by The Times on August 15, 2026, described this surge as a new “scramble for Africa,” highlighting how companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Starlink are broadening their footprint across the continent. While this growth offers opportunities for nations like Botswana, it also raises critical questions about who will ultimately command Africa’s digital economy.
In July, Google announced it had met its goal of investing $1 billion in Africa over five years. According to The Times, Google has built an undersea cable linking West Africa to Portugal and is developing another to connect Africa with Australia via India. Meta and its partners have laid an undersea cable encircling Africa, while Microsoft aims to connect 117 million Africans to the internet. Starlink reportedly serves about 500,000 users across Africa. These figures, drawn from The Times’ August report, reflect continental trends rather than Botswana-specific data.
Despite these advances, the connectivity gap remains vast. The Times notes that Africa’s population stands at approximately 1.6 billion, with roughly 400 million people still offline and about 250 million living beyond the reach of fiber or mobile networks. The continent’s digital economy accounted for just 1.1 percent of GDP in 2012 but is projected to grow to 8.5 percent by 2050. These projections underscore why Africa has become a magnet for technology companies: it represents a large, underserved market poised for significant digital growth.
Botswana is already part of this transformation, though its statistics require careful interpretation. Statistics Botswana’s Information and Communication Technology Statistics Brief for the first quarter of 2025 recorded 3,178,217 internet subscriptions. This figure accounts for subscriptions, not unique users, and therefore cannot be directly compared to Botswana’s population. The same report noted 4,195,416 mobile cellular subscriptions during the same period.
This distinction between subscriptions and individuals is crucial in Botswana, where one person may hold multiple subscriptions. Thus, while these numbers illustrate the scale of telecommunications activity, they do not imply a population exceeding three million. Botswana’s 2022 Population and Housing Census recorded 2,359,609 residents. These data sets measure different realities and should not be conflated.
There is, however, clear evidence that Botswana’s fixed broadband market is expanding. The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority’s (BOCRA) 2025 Annual Report shows fixed broadband subscriptions grew from 143,628 in March 2024 to 207,702 in March 2025, a 44.6 percent increase. Within that total, BOCRA recorded 8,075 Starlink subscriptions.
Satellite connectivity is especially relevant for Botswana given its geography and population distribution. Satellite services can deliver internet access without requiring the extensive terrestrial infrastructure necessary to reach every settlement. But the arrival of international tech companies should not be mistaken for Botswana achieving digital sovereignty. Expanding connectivity is one matter; controlling the infrastructure, data storage, and economic value derived from digital activity is quite another.
This distinction lies at the core of debates about digital colonialism, a term used by some scholars and critics to describe situations where powerful foreign tech firms control critical digital infrastructure, platforms, and data while extracting value from African markets. The concept remains contested. Google’s Africa managing director, Alex Okosi, rejected this characterization in The Times’ August report, insisting that their investments aim to build African technological capacity and markets rather than to exploit them.
The discussion should not be reduced to labeling foreign tech companies as “good” or “bad” for Africa. Their investments bring tangible benefits. Google, for instance, has invested in connectivity, startup programs, scholarships, and AI research across the continent. According to The Times, Google maintains AI research centers in Nairobi and Accra, and its AI search mode supports 13 African languages. The company has also released a dataset featuring recordings of 21 African spoken languages to assist developers working on speech-to-text technologies.
The economic potential is equally striking. The Times reports that about 70 percent of African online creatives’ earnings come from audiences outside the continent, demonstrating how digital platforms enable African talent to access international markets. This dynamic could apply to Botswana’s creative industries, tourism, software development, professional services, education, and other sectors capable of delivering digital products. The internet allows companies based in Gaborone, Maun, or Francistown to sell globally without establishing a physical presence in every market.
Yet, digital economies depend heavily on physical infrastructure, especially data centers. Africa accounts for roughly one percent of global data-center capacity, despite housing nearly one-fifth of the world’s population. Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area, has said the continent will need 500 more data centers by 2035, bringing the total to around 700. These figures reveal the deep infrastructure gap behind the more visible growth of apps, social media, and internet access.
This is where Botswana’s digital infrastructure takes on added significance. The country inaugurated the Digital Delta Data Centre in November 2025. Reporting by the Ecofin Agency described it as Botswana’s first national facility dedicated to data sovereignty, while the center’s own website states it aims to provide secure, reliable, and scalable infrastructure for businesses and government.
Yet, hosting local data infrastructure does not guarantee full control over a country’s digital environment. Digital sovereignty extends beyond the physical location of servers. It encompasses who operates the infrastructure, who accesses the data, the legal frameworks governing it, the origins of technology and software, and whether the nation possesses the technical expertise and institutions to exercise meaningful control.
Botswana has also bolstered its legal protections for personal data. The Data Protection Act, 2024, which came into force on January 14, 2025, safeguards individuals’ personal information and privacy.
Such legal frameworks grow increasingly vital as more economic activity shifts online. Digital platforms gather vast amounts of data about identities, preferences, transactions, locations, and behavior. Banks, retailers, telecom companies, government agencies, and tech platforms all process this information. The capacity to regulate how data is collected, stored, and shared will become ever more critical as Botswana’s digital economy expands.
But regulation alone won’t build a digital economy. Botswana must also nurture the talent to create and sustain it. A country that imports nearly all critical technology, software, and expertise risks remaining a consumer, even with widespread connectivity. Conversely, a nation that cultivates software firms, cybersecurity experts, cloud engineers, data scientists, AI researchers, and digital entrepreneurs can claim a larger share of the value created by technological growth.
This makes digital skills not just an education issue but a matter of economic development. Botswana’s youth won’t fully benefit from the expansion of AI and digital services if they are trained only to use imported technologies. They need opportunities to develop, adapt, and commercialize technology themselves.
The shortage of data centers across Africa also points to another challenge Botswana cannot ignore: electricity. The Times reports that unreliable power infrastructure already hampers data-center expansion continent-wide. These centers require constant electricity, with some operators resorting to diesel generators during outages.
For Botswana, then, the digital future is inseparable from its energy future. Cloud computing, AI, and data centers demand stable power. If Botswana aims to attract tech-intensive businesses or become a regional digital hub, connectivity alone will not suffice. The country will also need reliable electricity, robust cybersecurity, sound regulations, skilled workers, and infrastructure capable of handling large data volumes.
There is also the economic question of who reaps the rewards. Foreign investment can bring capital, infrastructure, technology, jobs, and expertise. Yet governments must consider how local companies can engage in the economy that follows. If foreign firms build infrastructure while local businesses remain dependent on their platforms, software, and services, a country may gain connectivity without developing comparable domestic technological capacity.
This does not mean Botswana should reject international tech companies—that would risk isolating the nation from one of the world’s fastest-changing sectors. Instead, the crucial question is how Botswana navigates its role in this industry.
The country can leverage foreign investment to build local capacity, mandate skills transfer when appropriate, support domestic tech firms, and strengthen institutions responsible for data protection and competition. It can also encourage businesses, universities, and government to create demand for locally developed digital products.
The opportunity is significant. The challenge lies in ensuring connectivity translates into more than consumption. Botswana’s 3.18 million internet subscriptions in the first quarter of 2025 reflect a substantial telecommunications market; not a population exceeding three million. BOCRA’s report of 207,702 fixed broadband subscriptions in March 2025, including 8,075 Starlink users, shows the market’s changing structure. Statistics Botswana and BOCRA provide domestic insights; the scale of the technology race internationally comes from The Times’ recent reporting.
The next phase of Botswana’s digital transformation should be judged not by how many people are connected but by how many local companies are created, how many skilled jobs are generated, how much digital value stays within the country, how effectively personal data is protected, how much infrastructure is locally controlled, and whether Botswana can develop technology tailored to its own needs; and export those solutions across Africa.