12 Nov 2023

Managing Director of Absa Bank Botswana, Ms Keabetswe Pheko-Moshagane has reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to be a major role player in Botswana’s mining sector. 

Addressing the Absa Thought Leadership Forum on Mining Thursday, Ms Pheko-Moshagane said Absa strove to not only be a financial institution, but also a partner in responsible  and sustainable  development through providing financing for mining value chain,  from  exploration  and  extraction  to  processing  and distribution.

“We have over the  past years funded mining and  mining related  projects  to the tune of  over P1.4bn and  have remained supportive to the  industry  during  times of  uncertainty,” she said. She said Absa continued to promote local players in the mining sector value chain through the Enterprise Supply and Development (ESD) programme. Ms Pheko-Moshagane stated that through the ESD programme, Absa had disbursed over P1bn to SMEs and trained close to 3 000 enterprises as part of its capacity-building initiative.

“Absa has enabled these SMEs to create 1 329 jobs to date, which demonstrates the bank’s alignment to Botswana’s  vision  on the  development  of SME’s  in line with the Citizen Economic  Empowerment drive,” she said.

She said Absa’s ambition was to be the country’s leader in sustainable financing, and to that extent recently published a P2bn note programme in the market that caters for green, social and sustainable bonds. 

She pointed out that the note programme would pave a way for Absa to issue sustainable bonds in the Botswana market. Ms Pheko-Moshagane commended government for using the country’s mineral wealth to invest in infrastructure, education, health and social protection, which propelled the country to upper middle-income status in 2004.

“The earth’s hidden treasures have played a pivotal  role  in  our  history,  development  and  the legacy  of mining runs deep in our  culture  and our  identity  as a country,” she said. ends