OKAVANGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE

What OKAVANGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE does

Okavango Research Institute (ORI) is a wholly-owned research institute of the University of Botswana, established in 1994 and based in Maun at the edge of the Okavango Delta — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar wetland. Its mandate is multi-disciplinary research on wetlands and adjacent drylands, organized across five programmes: Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Water Resources Management, Sustainable Tourism, and Climate Change. The institute operates the only environmental laboratory in northern Botswana, an Environmental Monitoring Unit with the longest institutional memory in the region, a GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory, the PSUB Herbarium (housing over 80% of Okavango Delta specimens), and a branch library with 20,000+ electronic journals and unique archival collections. It also maintains open-access geospatial databases (OBIS and ODIS) and a web-based environmental monitoring data delivery system.

ORI's offerings fall into four revenue streams: graduate education (MPhil/PhD in Natural Resources Management, with 40+ students recruited from the SADC region since 2008), research grants (EU Horizon 2020, NERC, ORD and others), paid laboratory testing services, and customized short-course training for government, private sector, and NGO clients. Pricing is governed by University of Botswana policy for tuition and is described as affordable and on-request for short courses. Its go-to-market is primarily academic and community-driven — research publications, conference presentations, university recruitment systems, and participation in trans-frontier conservation frameworks (KAZA TFCA) and SADC capacity-building networks (WaterNet). Customers span graduate students, academic researchers, Botswana government policy makers, the broader scientific community, and local communities engaged in CBNRM initiatives.

Strategically, ORI is positioned as a regional monopoly on geographically specific, long-horizon environmental data and graduate research. Its defensibility rests on decade-spanning datasets, heritage-associated policy influence, and exclusive physical proximity to the Okavango Delta. The institute has no disclosed M&A activity, no venture funding, and operates as a grant-dependent public entity under the University of Botswana.

Name

OKAVANGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Legal name

Okavango Research Institute

Website

https://ori.ub.bw

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Okavango Research Institute is a University of Botswana research institute in Maun conducting multi-disciplinary research on the Okavango Delta and adjacent drylands, serving SADC graduate students, government agencies, and scientific researchers through graduate programmes, laboratory services, environmental monitoring, and geospatial databases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Research Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) & Due Diligence (BPAHAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

EIA/ESIA Documentation & Technical Studies (Air/Water/Noise/Traffic) (EUAHAAAC), Environmental Permitting & Impact Assessment (EIA/NEPA) (BPAIAMAK), Stakeholder Engagement, Indigenous/Tribal Consultation & Social Impact (SIA) (EUAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Environmental research services
• Wetland ecology research
• Graduate natural resources
• Environmental laboratory testing
• Geospatial data services

Headquarters

HQ city

Maun

HQ country

Botswana

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Graduate Education: Multi-disciplinary MPhil/PhD programme in Natural Resources Management offered on full and part-time basis. Students come from government, private sector, NGOs, universities and other sectors primarily from SADC region.
2. Short Course Training: Short courses delivered by trained technical and academic staff to enhance human capital for professionals. Courses are customized to suit immediate needs at affordable pricing.
3. Laboratory Services: Routine sample testing for water quality parameters, anions, minerals, soil nutrients, heavy metals, and micro-biology of water for external clients.
4. Research Grants: Funded research projects from international agencies including ORD, NERC, EU Horizon 2020 for various water resources, climate and ecosystem research programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Okavango Research Institute (ORI) is a multi-disciplinary research institute of the University of Botswana focused on wetlands and adjacent drylands, particularly the Okavango Delta. It offers an MPhil/PhD programme in Natural Resources Management, environmental laboratory testing, GIS and remote sensing services, environmental monitoring, the PSUB Herbarium, and professional training courses. The institute maintains open access geospatial databases (OBIS and ODIS) and conducts research across five programmes: Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Water Resources Management, Sustainable Tourism, and Climate Change.

Product overview

The Okavango Research Institute (ORI) is a research institute of the University of Botswana, not a product company. ORI provides academic research services, educational programmes, and laboratory facilities focused on wetlands and adjacent drylands in the Okavango Delta region. The institute offers a multi-disciplinary MPhil/PhD programme in Natural Resources Management, supplemented by five research programmes (Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Water Resources Management, Sustainable Tourism, and Climate Change). Research services include an Environmental Laboratory (the only one in northern Botswana), Environmental Monitoring Unit, GIS Laboratory, PSUB Herbarium, Library Services, and Training Courses. The institute also maintains open access databases including OBIS (Okavango Basin Information System) and ODIS (Okavango Delta Information System) for geospatial data, and a web-based environmental monitoring data delivery system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MPhil/PhD in Natural Resources Management Multi-disciplinary graduate programme offering research-based higher degrees (MPhil/PhD) in natural science or social science, focused on the Okavango and Kalahari regions. Covers five research areas: Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Water Resources Management, Sustainable Tourism, and Climate Change. Targets graduate students from the SADC region.
• Environmental Laboratory Services The only environmental laboratory in northern Botswana, providing full-fledged facilities for research, teaching and routine analysis including water quality testing, anions, minerals, soil nutrients, heavy metals, and microbiology. Services external clients including researchers, government agencies, and private sector.
• Environmental Monitoring Unit Provides time series data and results on the Okavango river basin and neighbouring ecosystems, including hydrology, flood prognosis, fire and climate data collection and reporting. Delivers information to researchers, government and private sector.
• GIS Laboratory Services Geographic and remote sensing data services supporting researchers, government and private sector through geospatial data analysis, training and technical assistance. Hosts the OBIS and ODIS open access databases.
• PSUB Herbarium Peter Smith University of Botswana Herbarium (internationally indexed as PSUB), housing over 80% of specimens collected from the Okavango Delta. Provides botanical and taxonomic reference collection for researchers and students, with digital access via the BRAHMS database.
• ORI Library Services Branch of the University of Botswana Library supporting research in the Okavango Delta region with over 20,000 electronic journals, databases, e-books, and unique collections including Peter Smith, Richard Bell and Hans Heinz archives.
• Training Courses Short courses and custom-made training programmes delivered by academic and technical staff for skills enrichment in natural resource management. Targeted at government agencies, private sector, and NGOs requiring professional development.
• Web-based Data Delivery System Web-based environmental monitoring data delivery system providing climate, surface and groundwater levels, water quality, flood extent, wildfire extent, and fish catch per unit effort data from the Okavango Delta.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 graduate students trained from SADC region since 2008
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rhodes University (South Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate project coordinated by UNESCO-IHE, focusing on Integrated Water Resource Management and Ethics Action Group.
• Wageningen University (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate project coordinated by UNESCO-IHE, focusing on water resources management and climate adaptation.
• Université Moulay-Ismaïl (Morocco)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate project coordinated by UNESCO-IHE.
• ICATALIST (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate project coordinated by UNESCO-IHE.
• Macquarie University (Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in channel failure research in Okavango Delta: understanding channel change and floodplain evolution in wetlands in drylands.
• Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in inter-lab comparison and proficiency testing schemes for quality assurance in environmental laboratory services.
• South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in inter-lab comparison and proficiency testing schemes for quality assurance in environmental laboratory services.
• Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories (WEPAL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in proficiency testing schemes for quality assurance in environmental laboratory services.
• WaterNetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSADC subsidiary institution for capacity building in Water Resources Management. ORI coordinates Water and Land specialization for Regional SADC Master's Programme in IWRM.
• Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Botswana connected to protected areas in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia through KAZA TFCA. ORI research contributes to transfrontier conservation objectives.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DHI Group (DHI Water & Environment): Global water and environment consultancy and lab-services provider with operations in Africa. Comparable as a larger, commercially oriented provider of hydrology, water quality testing and environmental modelling services.
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa: Large South African statutory research council conducting multi-disciplinary environmental, water and biodiversity research. Comparable as a broader public-sector science institution operating across the same regional space.

Direct peers

• Wetlands International: Global not-for-profit focused on wetland conservation, Ramsar/World Heritage science and integrated water resources management. Directly comparable to ORI's wetland research and KAZA-aligned transboundary conservation mandate.
• University of Cape Town - Department of Environmental & Geographical Science: Leading African academic department running environmental research, graduate programmes and lab facilities relevant to water, climate and ecosystems. Comparable as a SADC-based, multi-disciplinary environmental research and teaching unit.
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa Centre: SEI operates an Africa hub delivering policy-oriented research on water resources, climate adaptation and ecosystem services. Comparable to ORI's interdisciplinary, applied, SADC-facing research and policy advisory work.
• IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office: IUCN's regional office convenes conservation science, World Heritage and Ramsar advisory work across SADC. Comparable to ORI's role generating the scientific evidence base for protected-area and wetland policy in the region.
• South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI): South Africa's statutory biodiversity research institute that runs herbarium collections, long-term monitoring programmes and policy-facing environmental research. Highly comparable to ORI in mission, herbarium assets, and government-linked environmental science delivery in southern Africa.
• South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON): SAEON operates long-term environmental monitoring nodes and open-access data platforms across South Africa, mirroring ORI's Environmental Monitoring Unit, OBIS/ODIS-style datasets, and multi-stakeholder research mandate.

Others

• African Wildlife Foundation (AWF): Pan-African conservation organisation that funds and applies research across the KAZA landscape. Adjacent peer: not a research institute, but a key consumer and funder of the same type of Okavango/Kalahari ecological science ORI produces.

Regional players

• Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) - Faculty of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences: Neighbouring Namibian institution with applied environmental, water and spatial sciences research across the Kavango/Zambezi basin. A regional peer operating in the same transboundary ecosystem as ORI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UBBotswana
• Facebookfacebook.com/UBMmadikolo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/okavango-research-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OKAVANGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE