BDC notes ‘strong interest’ in P5bn health fund
Mbongeni Mguni - Thabo Lewanika | Monday September 1, 2025 06:00
Following President Duma Boko’s declaration of a public health emergency on Monday, the BDC has been charged with establishing a fund to support various healthcare initiatives.
Known as Unity Healthcare Botswana Partnership Fund I (UHBP I) and managed by the BDC’s asset management company, the Fund seeks to attract capital from local and international investors. These funds will be directed at procurement of medicines, consumables, equipment, and related healthcare assets.
“BDC Asset Management is confident in securing a successful first close of BWP 2.5 billion for the Fund,” the Corporation’s managing director, Oteng Keabetswe, said in written responses to Mmegi enquiries on Thursday. “This confidence is driven by BDC’s own commitment of P100 million as an anchor investor, Botswana’s robust sovereign credit rating, and the strong interest already demonstrated by both local and international institutional investors. “The healthcare sector’s urgent and critical needs, combined with the Fund’s strategic alignment with government priorities, position this opportunity as both attractive and timely for investors.”
The MD added that UHBP I is structured as a partnership, with BDC as general partner and BDC Asset Management Company as manager. The Fund has a 15-year life cycle, during which it will finance the procurement of medicines, consumables, equipment, and related healthcare assets.
“Returns are designed to be stable and risk-adjusted, balancing financial performance with measurable healthcare impact. “Investors will participate alongside BDC and government in a commercially managed, outcomes-driven platform,” Keabetswe said. By being established as an investment fund, capital market participants expect that UHBP I will soon be taken on a roadshow, highlighting key indicators such as returns to be earned, maturity of the fund, minimum thresholds for investment and others.
Market participants are also keen to know how the fund will generate returns by investing in public healthcare, especially the purchase of drugs, and how government will access the fund. The market also wants to know whether government will guarantee the fund.
Responding to Mmegi enquiries, Keabetswe, UHBP I does not operate as “a simple transfer of funds to government”.
“Instead, it is structured around commercial agreements with the Ministry of Health, ensuring transparent, performance-based procurement of medicines and equipment,” he told Mmegi. “Investors are not lending directly to government; rather, they are investing in a managed vehicle that delivers healthcare supplies and services in line with national priorities, with returns underpinned by these contractual arrangements.”
The MD said the Fund did not explicitly enjoy a sovereign guarantee from government.
“It benefits from the strong credit standing of Botswana as an investment-grade sovereign, which underpins investor confidence. “While it is not based on an explicit sovereign guarantee, the Fund is built on firm contractual commitments and enjoys the strategic backing of the Government of Botswana. “This framework gives assurance to investors while ensuring that national healthcare objectives are met,” he said.
The Fund’s launch comes as the Health Ministry wrestles a P1 billion debt to suppliers and mounting costs of medicines, amidst allegations of gross overpricing by the market.