Section 48 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) prohibits the transfer of personal data from Botswana to another country unless the personal data is transferred to a third country, which ensures an adequate level of protection. Such level of protection will be assessed by the Commissioner in light of all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer operation in accordance with Sections 49 (1)-(4). Alternatively, the transfer is allowed if there is the consent of the data subject or where the transfer is:
- Necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken in response to the data subject’s request;
- Necessary for the performance or conclusion of a contract in the interests of the data subject between the data controller and a third party;
- Necessary for the public interest, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim;
- Necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject; or
- Made from a register that is intended to provide the public with information and is open to public inspection.

Botswana has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Botswana is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Data Protection Act provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Botswana.

Botswana is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Section 76 of the Public Procurement Act stipulates that, except as otherwise provided under this Act, all works, services, and supplies procurement should be reserved for a citizen or national contractor. In particular, certain procurement activities are reserved for local producers or suppliers. These include:
- Procurement activity offered only by a fully national-owned MSME;
- Goods manufactured locally by a fully national contractor;
- Services provided by a citizen or a fully national contractor;
- A procurement activity intended to promote innovation, local technology, and the commercialisation of the procurement activity; and
- The creation of jobs, capacity-building, and skills transfer.
Further details about reservation schemes can be found in Regulation 88 of the Public Procurement Regulations.
The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained a different reservation scheme. Section 71 of the repealed Act provided that reservation schemes applied to procurement of the following nature: low complexity; limited scale; repetitive in nature; having a financial ceiling; open only to citizen contractors; and based only on competition among the eligible contractors in the classification in question.

In accordance with Art. 53 of the Public Procurement Act, domestic bidding should be employed, unless otherwise prescribed. Further details regarding selection and procurement methods can be found in Part IV of the Public Procurement Regulations. Open domestic bidding is defined as a procurement method open to participation on equal terms by all service providers domiciled in Botswana.

Section 72 of the Public Procurement Act establishes price preference schemes for citizens and citizen contractors in accordance with the government's economic and social objectives. Further details regarding preference schemes can be found in Part X of the Public Procurement Regulations. The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained the same measure in Section 66.

Section 80 of the Public Procurement Act stipulates that a preference may apply for supplies of any product produced in Botswana. The degree of preference may vary depending on the percentage of value addition or local content. The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained a similar measure in Section 75.

In accordance with Section 81 of the Public Procurement Act, primary contractors, whether domestic or foreign, may be required to engage citizen subcontractors as part of their bid submission or during the execution of a bid award. Additionally, Regulation 86 of the Public Procurement Regulations stipulates that when a primary contractor enters into a contractual arrangement with a citizen subcontractor under Section 81 of the Act, a margin of preference shall be applied to the evaluated tender price. Furthermore, Section 97 of the Public Procurement Regulations specifies that when a procuring entity considers subcontracting feasible, it should facilitate this to enhance the skills and contracting capacity of fully citizen-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises. In such cases, the primary contractor is required to subcontract a portion of the total value of works, services, or supplies to a citizen, citizen contractor, or local contractor.
The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained a similar measure in Section 76.

According to Art. 92 of the Public Procurement Act, a contractor who intends to bid for a procurement may apply to the Authority to be listed in the Contractors' Register. To do so, the contractor should be licensed under the relevant laws of Botswana and domiciled in the country. The authority shall review the Contractors' Registry every five years and delete any contractor who has not applied for a renewal of the certificate registration.

In accordance with Section 85 of the Public Procurement Regulations, procuring entities must include a mandatory provision in tender documents requiring successful bidders to transfer technological or other skills to citizens or local contractors. This transfer is to be achieved through training, mentoring, and active participation. Additionally, the tender document must reserve employment opportunities for citizens in works, consultancy services, and non-consultancy services, including positions at the professional and management levels.

Botswana is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.