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Funding SMEs in Botswana: A contrarian view

Friday, March 29, 2024 | 1470 Views |

Empowerment: Besides government, other corporates are engaged in citizen enterprise development. Wilderness recently held a successful Expo for suppliers, where they displayed their products and services. The tourism group signed supply contracts worth P1 million at the event

“Ka April ngwaga o ne o, mokgokolosa o tlabe o simolola wa madi” loosely translated as “As of the first of April there will be truckloads of money”. These were the remarks of President Mokgweetsi Masisi last week as he gave hope for the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs promising finance incentives galore for all who have ideas.

While the “mokgolosa” statement has gone viral on social media, some public finance experts are sounding the alarm over the amounts of cash the government is pouring into unviable ventures, a persistent trend over the years.

Experts estimate that the general failure rate of SMEs in Botswana is about 80%, with over 70% of start-up firms failing in the first 18 months and less than two percent expanding their businesses.

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