University of Botswana

What University of Botswana does

The University of Botswana is a public university established by the Government of Botswana. Within it, the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), located in Maun, is a dedicated interdisciplinary research center focused on wetlands and adjacent drylands of the Okavango Delta. Originally established in 1994 as the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre (HOORC), ORI operates five research programmes spanning Climate Change, Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Tourism, and Water Resources Management. It maintains unique long-term environmental databases (BRAHMS, OBIS, ODIS) and the PSUB Herbarium, which holds approximately 80% of Okavango Delta plant specimens, providing institutional assets that are difficult to replicate.

Since 2008, ORI has offered an MPhil/PhD programme in Natural Resources Management and has produced more than 40 postgraduates. The institute is led by Prof. Joseph Elizeri Mbaiwa, who holds 150+ publications and over 20 years of relevant research experience. Its model is non-commercial: core funding flows through University of Botswana and Botswana government appropriations, supplemented by competitive research grants from international partners including the EU (Horizon 2020, AfriAlliance), UK NERC, and the KAZA Transfrontier Conservation Area framework.

ORI's stakeholder base spans government departments, postgraduate students, conservation NGOs, the tourism industry, and international research collaborators. As a public research institution, ORI does not generate commercial revenue from its outputs; its outputs are scientific publications, policy briefs, environmental datasets, herbarium records, and trained postgraduates. Strategic positioning is anchored to the Okavango Delta's UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, which mandates ongoing scientific monitoring and makes ORI the natural institutional partner for delta-related research in the region.

Name

University of Botswana

Legal name

University of Botswana

Website

https://ub.bw

Company type

Public

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The University of Botswana's Okavango Research Institute (ORI) is a government-funded research center in Maun that conducts interdisciplinary wetlands research on the Okavango Delta, maintains unique long-term environmental databases and herbarium collections, and offers postgraduate training in natural resources management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Research Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Wetlands & Waters of the U.S. Delineation / Riparian Assessments (EUAHAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Natural Resource Inventory & Forest/Woodland Assessments (Timber, Vegetation, Invasives) (EUAHAHAG), Ecological/Habitat & Land-Use Change Modeling (Biodiversity, Conservation Planning) (EUAHAKAI), Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital Programs (Water, Biodiversity Credits, PES) (IMAMAJAK)

Keywords

• Environmental monitoring services
• Graduate research education
• Environmental laboratory testing
• Wetlands and drylands research
• Natural resources management

Headquarters

HQ city

Maun

HQ country

Botswana

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Okavango Research Institute (ORI) of the University of Botswana conducts multi-disciplinary research on wetlands and adjacent drylands, offering an MPhil/PhD graduate programme in Natural Resources Management alongside fee-based environmental laboratory analysis, time-series environmental monitoring data, GIS and remote sensing services, herbarium collections, library access, and short-course training for researchers, government agencies, private sector, and SADC-region students.

Product overview

The Okavango Research Institute (ORI) of the University of Botswana is a research institute dedicated to the study of wetlands and adjacent drylands. Established in 1994, ORI offers a portfolio of research services and an academic programme centered around five research themes: Climate Change, Ecosystem Dynamics, Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Tourism, and Water Resources Management. The core educational offering is the MPhil/PhD in Natural Resources Management programme. ORI's service infrastructure includes an Environmental Laboratory (the only one in northern Botswana), an Environmental Monitoring Unit providing time series data, a GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory hosting OBIS and ODIS databases, an ORI Library with extensive collections, a PSUB Herbarium, and Training services. Together, these form a comprehensive research and academic ecosystem serving researchers, government agencies, private sector, and communities in the Okavango Delta region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MPhil/PhD in Natural Resources Management Programme Multi-disciplinary graduate programme offered by ORI since 2008 providing opportunities for natural science or social science research-based higher degrees in the unique environment of the Okavango and Kalahari regions, offered full-time and part-time across five research areas.
• Environmental Laboratory Services The only environmental laboratory in northern Botswana, offering full-fledged functions in research, teaching, and routine analysis including water quality parameters, anions, minerals, soil nutrients, heavy metals, and microbiology of water, with quality assurance through inter-lab comparison.
• Environmental Monitoring Unit Services Provides time series data and results on the Okavango river basin and neighbouring ecosystems, with the longest institutional memory on environmental operations in northern Botswana, including technical and logistical support, hydrological data collection, flood prognosis, fire, and climate data delivered via web-based system at monitoringdata.ub.bw.
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory Services An efficient and modern facility catering for geographic and remote sensing data needs of researchers, government, and private sector, hosting open access Okavango Basin Information System (OBIS) and Okavango Delta Information System (ODIS) databases, and providing specialized image processing software for classification of remotely sensed data.
• ORI Library Services A branch of the University of Botswana Library supporting research, teaching, and learning in the Okavango delta region, providing access to over 20,000 scholarly electronic journals, online databases, e-books, print books, and unique collections including Peter Smith, Richard Bell, and Hans Heinz materials, plus training in Mendeley, EndNote, and SafeAssign.
• PSUB Herbarium Services Peter Smith University of Botswana Herbarium (PSUB), internationally indexed and regional in scope (northern Botswana), housing over 80% of specimens collected from the Okavango delta, providing botanical and taxonomic identification services and species distribution information through physical collection and digital BRAHMS database.
• Training Services Short courses delivered by trained technical and academic staff to enhance human capital, offering both standard and custom-made courses tailored to immediate needs in various fields related to natural resource management.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150 publications by Director alone
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Rhodes University (South Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Integrated Water Resource Management and Ethics Action Group under Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate, funded by EU Horizon 2020. Collaborates on water resources research and governance.
• Wageningen University (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Integrated Water Resource Management and Ethics Action Group under AfriAlliance. Contributes expertise in wetland science and natural resources management.
• Université Moulay-Ismaïl (Morocco)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in AfriAlliance water and climate initiative, contributing to cross-regional research collaboration in water resources management.
• ICATALIST (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in AfriAlliance for Water and Climate, providing innovation and knowledge management expertise.
• UNESCO-IHEflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Coordinates the Africa-EU Innovation Alliance (AfriAlliance) for Water and Climate project. ORI participates as partner institution.
• Macquarie University (Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Collaborates on Channel failure in the Okavango Delta project, studying channel change and floodplain evolution in wetlands in drylands.
• Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation (OGRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Olga Kupika leads the OGRC project on climate change and ecosystem services at Shangani Holistic, Zimbabwe, as part of Natural Resources Governance and Institutions research.
• Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerORI research network connected to KAZA, the large transfrontier conservation area spanning Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS): Kenyan statutory body responsible for wildlife conservation, including research, monitoring, and protected-area management. Directly comparable to ORI in combining long-term ecological monitoring, biodiversity data collection, training, and advisory services to government and conservation partners in East Africa.
• South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB): NRF-supported research institute focused on aquatic biodiversity with curated specimen collections, long-term monitoring programmes, and graduate training. Closely comparable in mission, scale, and operating model to ORI as a publicly-funded, collection-based biodiversity research institute.
• Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT): South Africa-based conservation NGO conducting applied biodiversity research, species monitoring, and wetland conservation projects across SADC. Comparable in applied wetland/wildlife research and training but operates as a private NGO rather than a public institute.
• South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI): South Africa's statutory biodiversity research body operating herbariums, monitoring programmes, and biodiversity databases analogous to ORI's PSUB Herbarium and OBIS/ODIS systems. Highly comparable as a national-level biodiversity research and data institution serving government, researchers, and conservation practitioners.
• SASSCAL (Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management): Multi-country SADC research platform delivering climate, water, and land-use science across the region. Highly comparable to ORI in funding model (multi-donor consortium), regional scope, and focus on applied environmental research with policy impact.

Broad incumbents

• University of Cape Town - Department of Biological Sciences: Major African research university with strong wetland, climate, and biodiversity research capacity comparable to ORI's academic remit. Highly comparable in combining graduate training, multi-disciplinary research, and government advisory work, but at significantly greater scale and international recognition.
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) South Africa: Larger South African statutory research council with a much broader mandate spanning natural and applied sciences, including environmental modelling and water resources. Comparable as a publicly-funded SADC scientific institution but with significantly greater scale and cross-disciplinary reach.
• IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office: Global conservation union's regional office supporting protected area, biodiversity, and wetland science across SADC. Comparable as a knowledge broker and standards-setter for wetlands and Ramsar-related research, though operating at policy/convening scale rather than as a field research institute.
• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS): Global conservation organization with major field presence in northern Botswana and the Kavango-Zambezi landscape, conducting wildlife monitoring, ecological research, and biodiversity data collection comparable to ORI's EMU and herbarium services.

Regional players

• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Botswana: Botswana-focused branch of a global conservation NGO, active in Okavango conservation, water resource management, and community-based natural resource management. Directly comparable in geographic focus and CBNRM research, though operating as a private NGO with international funding rather than a government institute.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/UBBotswana
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsAEy42oIwOMTEUC5_T8Z2w
• Facebookfacebook.com/UBMmadikolo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/university-of-botswana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries6 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 University of Botswana