09 Mar 2025

Botswana stands out as an ideal investment destination due to several factors, says Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) chief executive officer, Mr Keletsositse Olebile.

Wooing investors during a roundtable discussion on business opportunities between Botswana and Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation that gathered captains of industries last week in Los Angeles, he said Botswana’s foreign exchange rate controls were globally competitive.

He said international investors were also not subjected to exchange rate volatilities that could lead to major loss.

Other perks that positioned Botswana as an ideal investment destination, he said, were its positioning as a central landing point for international investors looking for opportunities across Africa.

He said through a dispensation of export of services such as International Financial Services Centre, investors could freely move their capital out of Botswana without taxing restrictions.

Mr Olebile thus said Botswana was attractive to multinationals and financial service companies.

“We extend ourselves to you as your capital investment in Africa. Botswana is a stable country and credible for effective investment landing for other countries,” he said.

Mr Olebile said Botswana’s model of industrial development was cluster development where investors were facilitated seamlessly through interaction at any given point between private sector, institutions of training and government, producing relevant skills for the market.

Another bonus for Botswana-based investors, he said, was access to every corner of the world through the preferential arrangements that were made possible through ratification of African Continental Free Trade Area.

This, he said, had introduced preferential terms for trading in Africa across many countries that were members.

One of the priorities, he said, was to industrialise through manufacturing in order to reduce a list of products that were imported in large numbers to be substituted.

Mr Olebile said natural endowments in minerals and other products remained untapped, including high value minerals like copper, Kalahari copper belt, salt and soda ash, which were some of the low hanging fruits for investment.

“We are the largest producer of diamonds by value, hosting one of richest diamond mines in Jwaneng,” he stated.

He said other opportunities included global value chains in selective manufacturing, which he said should be explored. ENDS