Botswana does not have any regulation on trade secrets. The area is usually left to common law, usually invoked in the courts. The common way in which trade secrets are protected is through the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and contracts.

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 The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained the same measure in Section 66.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 The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained a similar measure in Section 75.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The Public Procurement Act repealed the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, which contained a similar measure in Section 76.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.

The Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) is a telecom company and was formerly a government parastatal. According to Clause 6.2 of the Constitution of the BTCL, no shares shall be issued to foreigners. Therefore, foreigners cannot own shares in this telecommunications company, which is also the only listed telecommunications company in Botswana.

Art. 17 of the Trade Act grants the Minister the authority to designate specific trades or businesses as exclusively reserved for citizens of Botswana or companies wholly owned by Botswana citizens. In line with Section 24 of the Trade Regulations, the businesses reserved for locals include, among others, cell phone shops and internet cafés. However, joint ventures between citizens and non-citizens may be approved by the Minister responsible for medium and large enterprises.

Section 145 of the Companies Act provides that a public company shall have at least two directors, and a private company shall have at least one director who shall be ordinarily resident in Botswana.

The Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) was established by the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre Act. Part V of the Act sets the functions, powers and duties of the Centre, which screens all proposed investments to ensure that they fall within the set priority investment sectors. An investment application is likely to succeed if it demonstrates some of the following:
- Number and quality/level of employment created;
- Potential for skills and technology transfer;
- Potential for export and import substitution;
- Potential to create backward and forward linkages;
- Innovation and creativity;
- Priority sector under the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD).

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

Botswana has a copyright regime under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Section 12 lists the exceptions, which include private reproduction for personal purposes, reproduction for teaching, reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives, reproduction, broadcasting and other communications to the public for information purposes, importation for personal purposes and temporary reproduction, amongst other things. In addition, Section 3 of the Act lists the types of works that would be protected, including computer programs. Furthermore, Section 36 provides that the provisions of any international treaty with respect to copyright and related rights to which Botswana is a party shall apply. Botswana is a signatory to the TRIPS Agreement, which has incorporated the Berne Convention.