DEF Names First Botswana Beneficiary

(IDEX Online News) — The Top Achievers Program is the first education beneficiaries of the Diamond Empowerment Fund in Botswana.

The Top Achievers Program is DEF’s third beneficiary. The first two are the CIDA City Campus, a business college in Johannesburg, South Africa, that is free to attendees with the requirement that they return to their native villages and teach for a period after graduation. The other is the African Leadership Academy, a secondary school in Johannesburg that draws students from all 54 countries in Africa to teach them leadership skills and the foundations of ethical governance.

The Top Achievers program represents a partnership between DEF and the Government of Botswana’s Ministry of Education. Top Achievers is a program that selects the top 30 high school students countrywide in Botswana, and affords them the opportunity to study at a university of their choice around the world.

According to DEF advisory board member Elliot Tannenbaum of Leo Schachter, “The efforts of the Top Achievers Program are an outgrowth of our very positive interaction with the Botswana workforce in the diamond industry. It is therefore in line with our vision of empowering African youth through education, creating a self-sustainable economic future for Africa.”

Nancy Orem Lyman, DEF executive director, added, “DEF’s support of the Top Achievers Program in Botswana signifies our recognition of the importance of this diamond producing nation and the impact diamond beneficiation will have on its future. It marks the initial program based in Botswana DEF will support.”

The program is administered with the government’s strategy and vision to diversify the economy of Botswana through a broader skill base, and position the country as a center of excellence. The Top Achievers are advised to pursue fields of study that include finance, medical research, leadership, entrepreneurship, and many more.