AfDB pledges muscle to BETP

Mbongeni Mguni | Monday August 17, 2026 06:00

The AfDB is a long-term financial partner of the government and the private sector, with an active portfolio of P368 million in various sectors. The Abidjan-headquartered bank holds the record for the largest external financing deal ever sealed by government, with the $1.5 billion facility from 2009 helping the country through the global recession of the time.

AfDB country manager for Botswana, Moono Mupotola, said the institution was supportive of government’s efforts to transform the economy by strengthening the scale of funding.

She was speaking on Monday at the launch of the AfDB’s country focus programme for Botswana.

“The bank is already engaging the government to identify and provide resources to selected priority private sector-led projects under the BETP,” she said. “Botswana's development ambitions under Vision 2036, the 12th National Development Plan and the BETP will require significantly greater investment that cannot be financed through traditional economic financing.”

The AfDB’s country focus report, prepared with the participation of local policymakers, emphasises the need for Botswana to pursue prudent macroeconomic management and structural reforms to support economic diversification, strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, and enhance the country’s development financing capacity.

Theo Awanzam, the AfDB country economist for Botswana and drafter of the report, said the country enters its development financing challenge more favourably compared to others due to the higher output per worker, when compared to its peers. He said this advantage, even though skewed towards the capital-intensive mining sector, was enhanced by the country’s moderate debt levels, when compared to peers on the continent.

Awanzam, however, said transformational programmes such as the BETP would need financing at scale, alongside enhancements in the business environment to attract external capital.

“Clearly, the needed capital is way beyond what can be mobilised domestically,” he said. “Although there is substantial domestic savings, there is a need to bring in foreign capital, and the way to do that is to strengthen the business environment. “There is a need to expand access to financing, particularly for the private sector domestically, and also to enhance human capital.”

The economist urged local policymakers to enhance the efficiency of public spending, boost revenue mobilisation through measures such as stepping up voluntary compliance in taxation and reviewing exemptions, whilst also developing investable projects that can tap into local asset pools such as those held by pension funds.

For his part, Vice President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe said the country’s decades of uncovering mineral wealth meant the accumulation of resources that must now become an investment in transformation.

He said this investment, captured in the priorities of the BETP, would need to find its way into enterprises to create work, dignity and opportunity for Batswana.

“Botswana already possesses substantial pools of long-term savings. “Our pension system is among the most developed on the continent. “We have banks, we have insurance assets, institutional investors and public financial resources built over many years. “Yet businesses with potential still struggle to secure finance. “Infrastructure projects can take too long to move from conception to investment while much of our domestic capital continues to find opportunity elsewhere. “Botswana seeks capital whilst Botswana's capital seeks investable opportunities,” he said.

Gaolathe said the answer was not to lower the prudential guardrails for investment, but rather to enhance project preparation so that pensioners’ funds find returns whilst contributing to the economy’s transformation.

“Investors require credible returns,” he said. “Government's work is to improve the quality and depth of opportunity available here at home. “That work is already underway, and it carries an important cultural and operational shift across government. “We are moving from a system that has historically been strong on policy design towards one that places equal weight on rigorous project preparation, execution and delivery. “That shift is taking root across our key institutions.”

Botswana and the AfDB are set to finalise a new Country Strategy Programme covering the years 2027 to 2031, which will outline the key financial and technical areas of cooperation.