BDC seals P1bn funding for SMEs

Mbongeni Mguni | Monday July 20, 2026 06:00

On Wednesday, the BDC signed statements of intent with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for the provision of financing facilities totalling €100 million (about P1.5 billion).

BADEA is a long-time financier of development in Botswana, having previously provided funding for work at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Kasane International Airport and the National Development Bank.

BDC managing director, Oteng Keabetswe, told BusinessWeek BADEA’s funding would support the Corporation’s new trade finance desk, under which it supports local businesses, particularly SMEs, to leverage opportunities in the mainstream economy.

Speaking after the signing, he said a particular focus for the funding would be the various Citizen Economic Empowerment (CEE) programmes offered by the mines and other major economic players.

“There are many institutions in Botswana, such as Debswana, Morupule Coal, Botswana Oil, Botswana Meat Commission and others who have launched CEE programmes that have kicked off, but not fully because Batswana do not have that access to capital, which is really commensurate with the risk that comes with that. “So what we're going to do is plug behind these citizen economic empowerment programmes and say to Botswana, ‘go get the contracts, we have your back’. “These institutions need guarantees to give out the orders, and we will stand and give the guarantee to take the order. “We will finance the order from where you get it, to the order getting delivered to the customer, which is either any of these institutions,” he said.

The various CEE programmes offered by institutions in the country are designed to empower citizen enterprises to scale up into the mainstream economy by leveraging the procurement power of sectors such as mining. The programmes help these SMEs to innovate, move from supply to manufacturing and contribute more to employment creation and import substitution.

“We are looking for what you call the next national champions. “We want to build the next millionaires in Botswana. “The supply chain needs to be funded, and Batswana need to participate in this. “Today we are closing that gap,” he told BusinessWeek.

Keabetswe said €40 million of the BADEA facilities would be channelled towards private sector lending under the BDC’s new strategy, which repositions the entity away from a reliance on traditional sectors and strengthens economic sovereignty.

Under the new focus, the BDC’s priority sectors will include agriculture, health, manufacturing, renewable energy, financial services, real estate, tourism, creative economy, education, media and technology.

“We are looking to restructure and optimise our balance sheet, and so this €40 million will go towards financing debt and debt-like instruments to blue-chip companies in Botswana for their own operations and other needs,” the MD said.

Speaking before the signing, Vice President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe said the new facilities would further strengthen Botswana’s development agenda and fell in line with the aspirations of the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme.

“These commitments come at a pivotal time in the global economy. “Climate pressures are mounting. Fiscal space is tightening. Infrastructure gaps remain significant. “These realities call for bold thinking, long-term partnership and financial solutions equal to the scale of the challenge,” he said.

At the Wednesday meeting, BADEA also extended a grant to the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-headquartered bank was in Gaborone to hold its first ever board of directors meeting in the country.