Bogolo Kenewendo

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo (born c. 1987) is a Botswanan economist and politician. She is the former Cabinet Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Botswana. Kenewendo was dropped from cabinet in November 2019. Since then, she serves as the Managing Director of Kenewendo Advisory, based in Gaborone, Botswana. She leads Molaya Kgosi Women Leadership and Mentorship Program and the Board Chair of Molaya Kgosi Trust.

In June 2022, Kenewendo was appointed as Special Advisor and Africa Director to the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions.

Background and education
Kenewendo was born in Motopi Village in the Boteti Area, in Botswana circa 1987. After attending primary school, she enrolled in Pitzer College. She was then admitted to the University of Botswana, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Later, she obtained a Master of Science in International Economics from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. She is also a Certified Project Manager. She received training in Economic Freedom Philosophy from the Foundation for Economic Education.

Career before politics
For a period of time after her postgraduate studies at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom as Chevening Scholar earning an Msc International Economics, Kenewendo worked as a trade economist ODI Fellow in the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry. She also served as an economic consultant at Econsult Botswana, a Gaborone-based think tank.

Political career
In 2016, the then president of Botswana, Ian Khama, nominated Kenewendo to the Parliament of Botswana, where she was elected as a presidential nominee to parliament. On 4 April 2018, the new incoming president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, appointed Kenewendo as the new Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry. She was sworn-in the same day.

In her capacity as minister, Kenewendo was appointed by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in 2018 to the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, co-chaired by Melinda Gates and Jack Ma. As the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana, she implemented reforms to significantly improve the ease of doing business, open up both domestic and international markets, and position the country to succeed in the global value chains as well as the digital economy. During her tenure, she was the youngest Cabinet Minister in Africa and in Botswana’s history.

Kenewendo was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2018.

When the United Kingdom assumed the presidency of the G7 in 2021, Kenewendo was appointed by the country's Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, to a newly formed Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) chaired by Sarah Sands.

Personal life
In her spare time, Kenewendo meditates, travels and reads.