When borrowing becomes a burden: Addressing loan overcommitment in Botswana

Friday, August 14, 2026 | 250 Views |

Financial difficulty rarely begins with a missed repayment. It often starts much earlier, when a salary arrives, and most of it is already committed before food, transport, electricity and other basic needs have been paid.

This is financial overcommitment: when monthly income can no longer adequately cover both household needs and debt obligations. A borrower may still be paying on time, but only by cutting essential spending, requesting repeated loan top-ups, borrowing elsewhere or using one loan to settle another.

The Bank of Botswana estimated household debt at P68.6 billion in December 2024, up 12% from P61 billion in the previous survey.

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