Employment rises in banking despite digitisation
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 5, 2025 10:44
The Bank of Botswana’s Banking Supervision Report released recently, shows that of the nine commercial banks operating in the country, only three reduced staff, mainly as a result of increased automation and use of digital channels.
The increase in staff was generally spread across the commercial banks and reflected expansion of business, the central bank said. Employees of large banks increased by 4.2 percent from 3, 410 in 2023 to 3, 553 in 2024, while at small banks the number grew by 2.1 percent from 1, 267 to 1, 293 in the same period.
The large banks include First National Bank, Absa Bank Botswana, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana and Stanbic Bank Botswana, while the smaller banks include Access Bank, Bank Gaborone, Baroda, First Capital Bank and BBS Bank.
The number of workers at statutory banks rose by 7.2 percent from 417 in 2023 to 447 in 2024, while the percentage of expatriates in the banking industry remained at 0.8 percent between 2023 and 2024, with the absolute number falling from 41 to 40 in the same period.