Botswana Development Corporation Limited (BDC) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) have formalized a significant financing partnership through two Statements of Intent, setting the stage for funding facilities totaling €100 million – roughly BWP 1.5 billion at current exchange rates.
The agreements were signed in Gaborone by BDC Managing Director Oteng Keabetswe and BADEA Board Chairman H.E. Dr. Fahad Aldossari. These proposed facilities await final approval, including the completion of term sheets and finance documents.
The financing package includes a €40 million long-term Private Sector Facility (about BWP 604 million) and a €60 million revolving Trade Finance Facility (around BWP 906 million). The €40 million tranche is intended to expand BDC’s capacity to support eligible private-sector companies and profit-driven state-owned enterprises. Its goal is to back commercially viable projects that enhance productive capacity, strengthen local value chains, and advance Botswana’s broader economic diversification agenda.
Meanwhile, the €60 million revolving facility will provide short-term trade finance to BDC clients, also facilitating the procurement of medicines, consumables, equipment, and spare parts for hospitals. This move aims to reinforce BDC’s ability to channel financing toward critical economic and social priorities.
“Botswana’s transformation requires capital suited to business needs, available for long enough to build productive capacity, and structured in a way that allows credible enterprises to act when opportunities arise,” said BDC Managing Director Oteng Keabetswe. He added, “The real measure of today’s signing will come after the photographs: capital deployed responsibly, businesses expanded, contracts delivered, essential goods supplied and employment sustained.”
H.E. Dr. Fahad Aldossari expressed BADEA’s commitment: “BADEA’s €100 million partnership with BDC reflects its confidence in Botswana, its commitment to private-sector development and trade, and its ambition for a longer-term relationship.”
Also commenting, Ravi Gupta, Managing Director of Blend Finance, advisors to BDC, said, “We believe Botswana has a compelling growth story. BDC is a pivotal and strong institution, with a clear economic ambition and the capacity to help translate that ambition into tangible development for the country. Blend Finance is proud to support BDC in turning that potential into investable opportunities and in building the funding partnerships needed to finance the country’s next phase of growth.”
Alongside the signing, BDC unveiled an enhanced Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme designed to bring transaction-based finance closer to qualifying, wholly citizen-owned businesses with confirmed commercial opportunities. Under this model, eligible enterprises with valid contracts or purchase orders can seek financing from BDC. The corporation will assess the commercial viability of each transaction—considering customer and supplier arrangements, pricing, delivery schedules, repayment sources, and operational capacity.
If the transaction meets BDC’s criteria, financing may cover approved costs necessary to fulfill the contract. Upon repayment, the capital can be recycled to support additional qualifying transactions. This revolving financing structure aims to help citizen-owned companies build credible delivery records and compete for larger commercial opportunities.
BDC plans to finalize the program’s operational details and communicate eligibility requirements and application procedures to prospective participants in the near term.
The facilities align with the priorities outlined in Botswana’s Twelfth National Development Plan and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme, both of which center the private sector as a driver of economic growth. These initiatives emphasize stronger value chains, higher productivity, diversified exports, and fostering firms capable of competing beyond Botswana’s borders.
This partnership underscores BDC’s sharpened focus on impact-driven investment, citizen participation, sustainable employment, and the mobilization of institutional and international capital. The corporation’s strategic repositioning prioritizes commercially viable investments that contribute to food security, improved health outcomes, broadened economic opportunities, and reduced dependence on imports. It also highlights the importance of building resilient enterprises and industry clusters that generate employment and long-term economic value.
In the past two years, BDC has advanced several major investment partnerships and financing platforms at various stages. Notably, in June 2026, BDC and ALBADDAD Holding broke ground on New Botswana City, a three-phase development with an estimated investment of $1.9 billion. The project aims to create a new hub for investment, trade, tourism, and large-scale commercial activity.
BADEA, established in 1975, has served as a cornerstone of Arab-African development cooperation for over five decades. Its mission includes financing economic development across African countries, mobilizing Arab capital for Africa, and providing technical assistance. Operating in 44 Sub-Saharan African countries, BADEA has approved more than 2,000 transactions worth over $15 billion to date. Its strategic focus areas include infrastructure, agricultural value chains, private sector and trade finance, small and medium enterprises, and entrepreneurship.
The Statements of Intent mark the beginning of what both institutions envision as a broad, long-term partnership centered on commercially viable investments and measurable development outcomes in Botswana.