Staff Writer
The Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Lesego Chombo, has described the “paradox of work experience” as one of the most absurd barriers confronting young people in Botswana’s labour market, calling for bold reforms to bridge the gap between education and employment.
Responding to the budget speech in Parliament this week, Chombo questioned a system that demands experience from young graduates while offering them little opportunity to gain it.
“How can a young person gain experience when they don’t get absorbed into the market?” she asked, highlighting what she termed a structural contradiction that locks capable and educated youth out of meaningful economic participation.
Chombo argued that while academic qualifications provide knowledge, it is job experience that builds skills, confidence, and practical understanding. Without deliberate pathways into the workplace, many young people remain trapped in a cycle where they are deemed unqualified due to lack of experience, yet denied the very opportunities that would allow them to acquire it.
She emphasized that granting young people access to meaningful job exposure should not be viewed as charity but as an investment in a stronger economy and a brighter future.
The minister warned that failure to resolve this paradox risks undermining Botswana’s demographic dividend, as thousands of qualified graduates struggle to transition into the workforce.
Beyond employment pathways, Chombo also called for a re-examination of youth financing and business development models. She noted that it is often difficult to distinguish whether youth business failure stems from lack of capital, limited access to funding and reliable markets, or from insufficient creativity and innovation.
However, she maintained that young entrepreneurs possess innovation in abundance. The challenge, she suggested, lies more in systemic barriers than in the capabilities of youth themselves.
Chombo indicated that her ministry is exploring alternative approaches to youth financing models that go beyond simply disbursing funds and instead ensure mentorship, market access, and sustainable business ecosystems.
She stressed that access to capital must be complemented by access to reliable markets, networks and technical support, otherwise financing alone will not yield meaningful transformation.
Moreover, a significant portion of Chombo’s response focused on women’s economic inclusion. She called on institutions entrusted with leading Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Botswana to deliberately, visibly, and systematically prioritise women and youth in funding allocations.
Referring to the P1.31 billion earmarked for SMME financing, Chombo said the allocation should translate into tangible economic freedom for women.
She argued that economic liberty is a powerful tool against exploitation and gender-based vulnerability. Financial independence, she noted, enables women to negotiate their life circumstances on their own terms and to refuse abusive or oppressive conditions.
Chombo maintained that embedding women deliberately into economic participation is not merely a gender issue, but a national development imperative.
The minister also broadened the conversation to inclusivity, stating that equal access to opportunity must extend to every young person regardless of gender, race, disability, economic background, or nationality.
She emphasized that rural youth, young people living with disabilities, and marginalized communities must not be left behind in economic reforms.
Chombo’s remarks signal a push for structural change in how Botswana approaches youth empowerment and gender equality. By confronting the paradox of work experience and advocating for intentional inclusivity in financing and employment pathways, she framed youth development as central to national economic resilience.
Her intervention in Parliament underscores a broader policy debate: whether Botswana’s institutions are agile enough to convert educational attainment into economic productivity, and whether funding frameworks can be redesigned to produce genuine inclusion rather than symbolic participation.
If implemented effectively, the minister’s proposals could redefine the transition from education to employment, strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems, and anchor women firmly within Botswana’s economic mainstream.
At the heart of her message was a simple but urgent call that opportunity must not be conditional on prior access. Instead, systems must be built to ensure that young people and women are not merely participants in the economy, but active architects of its future.
