Established in 2008 under the framework of the National Development Plan 10, NBFIRA still lacks the regulatory and technical expertise necessary to fulfil its mandate of positioning Botswana as a financial services hub of southern Africa.
Botswana's non-bank financial services sector consists of pensions, insurance, micro-lenders and capital markets players like stockbrokers. The objective of the proposed project, whose start date is in September, is to support NBFIRA in implementing a Risk Based Regulatory Model (RBRM) in line with international best practices. The model will not only see NBFIRA providing effective regulation but also achieve financial sustainability and independence. NBFIRA needs to unlock independent funding from the private sector as the Act indicates that it should be financed through fees levied on the regulated industries. For the financial year 2011/2012, NBFIRA faced a deficit of over P49 million and has proposed to raise approximately P28.6 million from the industry through fees and levies. According to an AfDB project blueprint, experts will be provided to assist in designing the model, providing the necessary operational procedures, training and IT systems.
