BSE beefs up support for SMEs
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday February 16, 2026 09:16
SMEs are traditionally reluctant to approach the BSE for listing mainly due to concerns around upfront fees, cost of compliance, as well as the burden of corporatisation, especially perceptions involving the loss of control that comes with inviting the public onto the share registry.
The BSE is partnering with the government in its SME financing drive, with Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe on Monday unveiling a P1.31 billion allocation across various programmes for SMEs. He also pledged more progress on the National Fund of Funds, which is planned to finance the citizen enterprise ecosystem from the 2027–2028 financial year.
BSE head of market development, Thapelo Moribame, said the local bourse would launch two initiatives this year aimed at boosting SME participation in capital markets, thus supporting their growth.
“There is an SME development opportunity in the capital markets, and the smaller firms do present an opportunity for this country in terms of job creation, in terms of innovation and inclusive growth, and in terms of driving a circular economy, which is very important in the era of sustainability,” Moribame said at the First National Bank Botswana post-budget seminar. “When you look at the funding gap that currently exists and the fact that there have been challenges in terms of market structures, we see ourselves as a strong player in ensuring that SMEs have that much-needed access to capital that they need to grow their services.”
Whilst the BSE has had an SME board called Tshipidi since 2019, together with an annual handholding programme known as the Tshipidi Mentorship Programme, no companies have yet been listed on the platform.
Moribame said this year, the exchange would launch the more targeted Tshipidi Accelerator Programme to support the SME board.
“We will take individual SMEs and help them through development in terms of ensuring or getting the clear KPIs for a listing properly documented, then take them through a process of a couple of months where we ensure that the gaps are filled, working with some of the advisors that currently exist within the listings ecosystem. “The difference here is that we're also going to facilitate access to new markets as well as local and global mentors to ensure that not only are we educating SMEs, but we also help them in terms of them achieving business resilience,” she said.
In addition, the BSE is scheduled to launch the eagerly-awaited Motheo National SME Fund, which targets financing for SMEs.
“We have been doing a lot of work around Motheo, which really emphasises the opportunity that we currently have and the funding gap that currently exists,” Moribame said. “With Motheo, we're going to obviously be providing funding in terms of debt and equity to SMEs and working with those SMEs to eventually get them to exit through the Botswana Stock Exchange or through the public market. “The goal really is to build and scale new businesses and ensure that there's growth and support towards SMEs.”
Both the Tshipidi Accelerator and the Motheo Fund are built on data showing that SMEs in the country account for 95% of firms in terms of numbers and 75% of formal employment. Research estimates that SMEs face a funding gap of P18.5 billion in the country.
Moribame added that besides the two initiatives, the BSE was working on lowering the cost of access for SMEs, including waiving listing fees for the first five firms that list on the Tshipidi SME Board.
“This is an invitation to SMEs to say, as the Botswana Stock Exchange, we don't run an elitist market. “We work based on inclusion, and we want to ensure that all the various segments within the economy are included as much as possible,” she said.