The conveyor belts are moving again. After a punishing slump that emptied government coffers, weakened trade and laid bare the peril of yoking a nation’s fortunes to a single glittering stone, Botswana’s diamond industry has begun to stir. The economy expanded 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, and rough-diamond output surged in the second. For a country where a shift in gemstone appetite can determine whether budgets balance, businesses grow and workers...

Botswana has sharply reduced its projected budget deficit for the 2026-27 financial year, as stronger-than-expected revenue from the Bank of Botswana and efforts to curb government spending improve the country’s short-term fiscal outlook. The deficit for the 12 months ending in March 2027 is now expected to be 9.26 billion pula, or 3.1 percent of gross domestic product, Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe said. That is down from the 26.35 billion pula deficit – equivalent to...

President Duma Boko used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to press for changes to the global financial system, arguing that developing countries need cheaper, more reliable financing to expand their economies, create jobs and sustain essential public services. Speaking at the 81st session  of the General Assembly in New York, Mr. Boko called for an overhaul of the international financial architecture. Developing economies, he said, continue to face borrowing costs...

Botswana’s merchandise trade deficit reached P2.33 billion in June, as a sharp decline in imports failed to produce a meaningful increase in exports.

FNB Botswana has reported a 12 percent rise in profit, reaching P2.117 billion for the financial year ending June 2026, despite ongoing pressures from impairments, high funding costs, and subdued credit demand. The bank’s total income grew 13 percent to P4.226 billion, buoyed by a 30 percent increase in non-interest revenue, while net interest income edged down two percent to P1.912 billion. In light of these results, FNB declared a dividend of 30 thebe per...

On 21 April 2026, the European Union drew a line through Botswana’s last authorized fresh-beef export zones. The decision, triggered by a cascade of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks across the country’s veterinary control areas, did more than sever a trade route. It forced a landlocked southern African nation of 2.4 million people to answer an uncomfortable question: What happens to an export-dependent industry when its most lucrative doorway slams shut? The answer is still taking shape....

Botswana’s banking sector continues to demonstrate resilience against credit and interest rate risks, with the Bank of Botswana’s latest stress tests confirming stability under moderate conditions. Yet, the central bank warns that more severe scenarios could reveal vulnerabilities within property lending. Deputy Governor Dr Kealeboga Masalila provided insights in response to inquiries about the Monetary Policy Committee’s stress testing results, focusing on commercial real estate (CRE) debt-servicing risks, potential defaults, and exposure to interest rate...

Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire and founder of the Dangote Group, delivered a pointed challenge to African nations and businesses: take charge of the continent’s industrial future instead of relying heavily on foreign investors. Speaking at a Capital Markets and Institutional Investors Roundtable in Botswana, hosted by Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe and the Botswana Stock Exchange, Dangote emphasized that African capital must play a decisive role in funding large-scale development projects. His remarks underscored industrialization,...