Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH), the country's agent for transforming Botswana into a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy, has partnered with Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) and the country's Sports and Culture ministry to establish a youth empowerment programme.

Dubbed KitsoWorks the programme has been hatched to facilitate support and training of young unemployed ICT graduates within the private sector.

According to BIH the youth empowerment and employability programme tackles ICT graduate unemployment, according graduates seeking jobs and business opportunities, an option to submit their credentials to an online platform and database, where potential employers can search for talent and vice versa.

"KitsoWorks is a product of the continued search for dynamic new ways of extending and building on our collaboration with Microsoft Innovation Centre to maximise its potential impact and adoption of world class technology, innovations and skills for graduates," said Boshwaen said Alan Boshwaen, BIH chief executive officer.

BIH further notes that KitsoWorks is a localised version of the Global Microsoft YouthSpark platform with a job search function, youth mentoring and social and professional networking features.

"We believe this is an exciting programme that will have a significant local impact on skills development of the workforce and supporting development of technology based start-ups that are developing solutions for local challenges."

In 2011, Microsoft expanded its footprint in Botswana, with the first ever Microsoft Innovation Centre set to be officially launched.

The Innovation Centre, an extension of the global Microsoft Innovation Centre network, is designed to promote the development of innovation and growth of the Botswana software economy and support the government's diversification of the economy away from diamonds.