5 REASONS FOR INVESTING IN BOTSWANA

Botswana is the diamond in the crown of Africa and fast becoming the investment destination of choice in the Sub-Saharan region.

  1. Access to many markets

Botswana has signed various trade agreements that enable it to access various markets for its products.  Botswana has preferential market access to;

  • American market through AGOA with access to 625 product lines
  • European market through both the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and the SACU – European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland)
  • Southern Africa through both SACU & SADC with a population of 277 million
  • The whole of Africa market through the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) with a market of about 1billion
  • COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Agreement – popn. 625Million
  • SACU – MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.)
  1. Abundant natural resources
  • large deposits of diamonds creating opportunities for diamond beneficiation
  • Large livestock creating opportunities for meat and leather processing activities
  • Abundant sunlight for renewable energy production
  • Large coal deposits for oil and gas production
  • Large salt deposits for salt beneficiation
  • Large and fertile soil for agriculture activities
  1. Attractive business environment
  • The most stable macroeconomic environment in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Preferential incentives in Special Economic Zones;
  • High credit rating
  • No currency control
  • Young trainable workforce
  • Relatively low labor cost
  • High literacy rate and high level of English proficiency
  • Online company registration
  • Efficient One Stop Shop services
  • Ranked 1st in Africa for the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI)
  • Amongst the top 5 countries in Africa with the lowest cost of living
  • Full Repatriation of Profits and Capital
  1. Governance, Peaceful and stable country
  • The least corrupt country in Africa
  • The second most peaceful country in SADC with low crime rates
  • Third well governed economy in SADC
  • Second most safe country with a strong Rule of Law
  • Rules of law are enforced without discrimination.
  • Intellectual property protection.
  • Strong Political will and support to diversify the economy into other sectors
  • The country is widely reputed as the African continent’s longest running multi-party democracy
  • A stable political climate, a solid democracy and good governance
  1. Botswana is committed to continued growth
  • Fully serviced infrastructure in the Special Economic Zones and ‘fit for purpose’ solutions to investors
  • Botswana Government is consistently investing in new and improved core infrastructure such as power plants, fiber-optic networks, roads, railways and international banking institutions;

 

 



FACTS AND RANKINGS

  • Preferential Market Access
    • SACU – popn. 56.9 million
    • SADC – popn. 277 Million
    • COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Agreement – popn. 625Million
    • African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
    • S. market through AGOA – access of 625 product lines
    • SADC – EU Economic Partnership Agreement
    • SACU – MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.)
    • SACU – European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland)
  • International Rankings
    • Credit Rating
      • Moody’s Credit Rating: A2
      • Standards and Poors: A-
    • Ease of Doing Business: 4th in Africa
    • Transparency International (2017)
      • Anti-Corruption Index - 34 / 180 globally
      • Least corrupt in Africa
  • Conducive Business Environment
    • Educated and skilled workforce
      • high literacy rate (87.5%)
      • high level of English proficiency;
    • Stable inflation rate
    • Stable exchange rate:
    • No currency controls
    • Low work force costs
    • High speed internet
    • Streamlined business processes
    • Efficient One Stop Shop services
  • Political environment
    • Politically stable with low levels of corruption
      • Globally ranked 34/180 by the Transparency International in 2017,
      • amongst the least corrupt countries in Africa
    • Strong Political will and support to diversify the economy into other sectors
    • Peaceful country with very low crime rates
      • ranked the safest country in Africa and
      • 47th safest country in the world by IPSA