Supporting Local Skills Development: BIHL Trust Thomas Tlou Scholarship Awards 6 More Batswana in 2017

Five years on, the BIHL Trust Thomas Tlou Scholarship continues to grow in reach and influence, as a major initiative committed to contributing towards national skills development. Beaming with pride amongst stakeholders on Wednesday August 9th 2017, BIHL Trust Chairman Major General Bakwena Oitsile welcomed 6 promising scholars to the programme, at an official ceremony.

The 2017 intake ran a 7-week period from 8 May to 30 June 2017. After a nationwide intake of applications, 13 prospective candidates were shortlisted and 6 candidates were chosen. The candidates will pursue postgraduate qualifications from a variety of disciplines including the sciences, economics, and business. Among the exceptional 6 chosen included colleagues of the BIHL Group who demonstrated exceptional potential.

Said Oitsile, “In any economy, development depends considerably on the skills available and in demand. As BIHL Trust we understand that where more Batswana can have access to programmes or mentorship that teaches them how to pioneer and sustain industries, this can create more business opportunities here at home and allow for the exporting of more local operations. This in turn can yield greater employment opportunities and drive national productivity, which this scholarship was initiated to support in the long term.”

To date, the Trust has officially sponsored 24 candidates to study at leading Botswana institutions, and looks forward to engaging more talented Batswana who desire to be the difference that Botswana’s socio-economy needs to move forward.

This year, BIHL Trust chose to support areas of study that teach strategy, finance, business management and other skills that would further enable graduates of the Scholarship to startup, run and or lead successful operations across Botswana’s industries. The particular rollout of this year’s scholarship programme comes off the back of the recent launch of the Trust’s 2017-2022 strategy, where a significant proportion of the 2017 funding was allocated to support educational programmes.

Concluded Oitsile, “Leaders in our public education system have worked extensively over the years to offer as much access to education for Batswana as possible. As a private institution, we therefore desire to support national skills development initiatives. Via our strategic focus on supporting initiatives in the education sector in particular, such as with our scholarship, we intend to play a proactive role in working with Batswana to realise the Vision 2036’s goal of a knowledge-based economy. We congratulate the 6 bright men and women of this year’s intake, and we are excited to offer our support towards their studies, that will further equip them to take on leadership roles in the economy in future.”