The upper middle income status of botswana vis a Vie gaberone’s non-governmental organisations’ access to international funding

Abstract

The research evaluates if the classification of Botswana as an Upper Middle Income Country (UMIC) negates Gaborone’s Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) access to financial support from international development partners. The objectives were, to establish the extent to which the UMIC status of Botswana has affected NGO access to funding from international development partners, second, to establish what other factors and to what extent such factors influence accessibility of funding from international development partners, third, to establish the strategies engaged by NGOs which are still accessing funding from international development partners and, last, to proffer methodologies that could enhance access to funding from international development partners by Botswana NGOs. A case study research design was used. The research was qualitative and employed semi structured interviews and focus group discussions. A total of fifty six (56) respondents was realized, namely through the policy makers, senior government officials and administrators, NGOs and their umbrella bodies. The research established that Botswana’s UMIC status did not have a huge bearing on failure by some local NGOs in accessing financial support from international development partners. The research revealed that NGOs required more technical and strategic preparedness, a necessary pre requisite for funding.