How women are shaping Botswana�s new economy

Botswana is working hard to diversify its economy, which has historically been based on the production and sale of diamonds. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report shows that the country has the highest new business density in Africa with 13.11 new businesses registered, per 1000 adults. Education and entrepreneurship are key drivers of this growth, playing an integral part in reducing Botswana’s 29.4% youth unemployment rate - and women are at the leading edge.

Botswana’s women entrepreneurs are on the rise. The 2017 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs tracked the number of female business owners, as a percentage of total business owners, across 54 high, middle and lower income countries. Botswana, classed as an upper middle-income economy, was ranked second in the world at 34.6% (by comparison, Uganda scored highest at 34.8% and Saudi Arabia lowest at 1.5%). The latest data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) also ranks female entrepreneurship in Botswana as the third highest in the region.