Business Botswana president Outlines Five Priorities for Stronger Ties with Lesotho
18 Jun 2026
Business Botswana president Mr Neo Nwako has laid out five priorities he says must anchor the economic partnership between Botswana and Lesotho, declaring that the private sector from both countries is ready to move from talk to action.
Mr Nwako was speaking at the Botswana-Lesotho Business Forum held in Gaborone on Thursday.The forum brought together business leaders, private sector organisations, financial institutions, and public entities from both countries.
At the top of his list was the need for a joint value proposition to unlock capital market access. Mr Nwako said both countries share geographic and population constraints that make collective positioning in larger markets not just strategic, but necessary.
He also called for deliberate cross-border value chain development, pointing to existing strengths in production, logistics, finance, mining, and enterprise development as building blocks for stronger regional cooperation.
On financing, Mr Nwako stressed the critical role of what he termed “change capital” — development finance that supports viable project pipelines through joint funding, targeted support for local enterprises, and risk-sharing mechanisms that allow businesses to scale across borders.
Resilience against global supply chain disruptions featured as his fourth priority. He said businesses in both countries are prepared to reduce their exposure to external shocks by strengthening regional linkages through collective sourcing, distribution, and production.
Rounding out his priorities was climate change, which Mr Nwako described as a cross-cutting threat requiring deliberate mitigation programmes, particularly in tourism and agriculture.
Mr Nwako closed with a direct message to the national leadership of both countries, calling for the removal of regulatory barriers, harmonisation of standards, and the facilitation of the free movement of goods and services between Botswana and Lesotho. ENDS
Source : BOPA
Author : Bakang Wren
Location : Gaborone
Event : Bi-National Commission
Date : 18 Jun 2026
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