Business investment in Botswana

Botswana natural resources

Botswana has long and intense sunshine hours, huge diamonds deposits, copper, nickel, coal, soda ash, salt, potash and uranium.

The country is estimated to have 200 billion tons of coal. This endowment of natural resources spells out the true blessings of a country..

The abundance of these energy sources support prospective business and a growing economy which is good news to any investor.

Whereas the abundance of natural resources have been a 'resource curse' to others, to Botswana they have been a blessing and an opportunity for economic growth and improved life for its people.

Property investment

With its vast amount of unused land and the growing property market, Botswana remains a good place for business investment.

Botswana has well established property and estate agencies to provide business and personal property.

Of course, there are rules for acquiring property, but you are best placed to be assisted by the established property agencies in Botswana.

International financial services and business investment

Botswana encourages the international business community to establish business in the country.

This is done through agencies such as the International Financial Service Centre and the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority.

With its stable financial services sector investment can be sought in the areas of finance, insurance, investment funds, business process outsourcing, call centres and general business.

Further, these are then supported to grow into the larger African market.

Development projects

True to its class, as a developing country Botswana is a country constantly under construction to bring developments.

Any significant infrastructural development in Botswana, save for the 5km long tarred road laid for the visiting Queen of Britain in 1958, started off at independence.

So, Botswana was built by Batswana from scratch.

And more developments are still being carried out.

Some of the envisaged energy project in Botswana are:

• Morupule B power station - This project will quadruple locally produced electricity to 600MW by 2012. The meagre 132MW Morupule Power Station has been the country's owned sole electricity supplier. Ironically given the huge natural resources Botswana have, Botswana still imports electricity.
• Mmamabula energy project - The Mmamabula energy complex consists of the electricity production, exportation of coal and the coal-to-hydrocarbons conversion projects. More developments will be carried out to support the project, such as the construction of a rail line across the Kalahari desert to a port in Namibia.

Botswana business sector hubs

Botswana's economy has been too dependent on diamonds, and therefore has to diversify.

The country has identified six sectoral hubs that will diversify the economy through the involvement of both the government and private sector.

These six sector hubs are:

• Diamond Hub
• Innovation Hub
• Health Hub
• Agriculture Hub
• Transport Hub
• Education Hub

Innovation Hub kick-starts the Botswana economic diversification plan

Botswana economy is being driven into a new direction. For the better.

The strategy is economic diversification; and the vehicle for diversification is a set of 6 business hubs.

These are the Innovative, Diamond, Health, Transport, Education and Agriculture Hubs.

Activities on establishing the Botswana Innovative Hub have started in October 2010. A science park is underway.

Botswana Development Corporation is to play a leading role in setting up the park, due for completion by 2012.

The immediate benefits? Establishment and registration of over 200 companies and creation of over 4000 by 2016.

The long-term benefits? Transformation of Botswana to a knowledge-based economy that is complementary to, not dependent on, the single sector of diamond mining.

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