Selalelo Mpho Mpotokwane is a Consultant and Trainer who recently completed a 28-year research
scientist career with the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC), Botswana, where he
developed food technologies, technical manuals, training materials and standards for the food industry.
He holds an MSc. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Ghent (Belgium), and an LLM in
Intellectual Property from the joint World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)/University of Turin
(Italy) programme.
Selalelo’s interests are in the development and commercialisation of Botswana's indigenous-raw-
material-based foods, and to that end he is a passionate advocate for Food Sovereignty. He has been a
member of the task team on Botswana’s domestication of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-
Sharing (ABS); the team developed drafting instructions for Botswana’s upcoming ABS Bill. He was also
a reference group member in the development of Botswana’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) draft
policy.
As a Trainer accredited with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA), Selalelo delivered training in
Food Processing and Food Safety while at NFTRC. His passion for training, speaking and emcee’ng
engagements dates as far back as primary school, where he learnt acting and presentation skills through
Sunday School plays, which drama activities he continued with as a member of the drama club at
Secondary School. Successful completion of JCI Prime (now JCI Trainer, a trainers’ course run by Junior
Chamber International {JCI}) in 1994, was the beginning of a life spiced with regular training and
speaking opportunities. He has over the span of his career made quite a number of national television
appearances, and has featured on several radio programmes, as well as work videos.
