FNBB’s profit climbs 12% amid persistent credit challenges

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...

From the Kalahari to Kinshasa: Botswana’s beef industry confronts its moment of reckoning

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....

Stress tests indicate commercial real estate risks remain manageable

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...

Dangote calls on Africa to finance its own industrialization   

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,...

UB tackles innovation barriers with new Fund, coordination efforts

The University of Botswana (UB) has pinpointed poor coordination among institutions as the chief barrier blocking local innovations from reaching the market. Professor Doreen Ramogola-Masire, UB’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, emphasized the need to dismantle institutional silos and create a streamlined pipeline that connects research, infrastructure, funding, and commercialization. She highlighted ongoing efforts at UB to help innovators transition from prototypes to investment-ready products. Speaking to the WeekendPost, Ramogola-Masire said coordination outweighs...

Okavango farmers highlight gaps in Botswana’s horticulture market

Farmers in Botswana’s Okavango region are sounding the alarm over the limited and poorly structured markets that are stifling their ability to expand horticultural production, despite having ample land, water, and capacity to grow a wider variety of crops. Their concerns point to a broader weakness in the country’s horticulture strategy, where efforts to boost local output have not been matched by equally robust market systems. The Okavango Horticulture Farmers Association, representing more than 60...

Africa unites for climate-resilient healthcare in 2026 Conference

The Botswana Association of Family Physicians (BAOFP) is calling for enhanced collaboration among African nations to build resilient primary healthcare systems amid escalating climate and health challenges. In response to a query from the Weekend Post, BAOFP Chairperson Dr. Claire Brockbank and Vice Chair Dr. Yaone Bogatsu, both members of the 9th WONCA Africa Region Conference 2026 organizing committee, emphasized the conference’s goal to shift discussions on planetary health and primary care toward actionable, Africa-centered...

Botswana’s economic growth falters amid persistent inflation pressures

Bank of Botswana Governor Lesego Moseki has warned that businesses and households should prepare for ongoing inflationary pressures as rising fuel and electricity costs, livestock movement restrictions, and global geopolitical tensions continue to push prices upward. Despite these challenges, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the policy rate steady at 5.5 percent, balancing the need to curb inflation with concerns about fragile economic growth and rising business expenses. Botswana’s headline inflation remains significantly above...

A Billionaire comes knocking. Can Botswana open the door?

When a billionaire walks through the door, a country has two choices: roll out the red carpet, or roll up its sleeves. For Botswana, the visitor was Mohammed Dewji, Tanzania’s richest man and one of Africa’s most relentless empire builders. The opportunity he dangling – manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, energy – reads like a wish list for a nation hungry to diversify beyond diamonds. The catch? Botswana’s own government concedes it can be its own worst...

High Court voids Kgosi asset restraint

In a ruling certain to reverberate across Botswana’s legal and political topography for years to come, the High Court has delivered a sweeping and unambiguous judgment in favour of the estate of the late Isaac Seabelo Kgosi – a verdict that not only dismantles the restraining order that had frozen his properties since 2019 but also delivers a stinging rebuke to the state’s investigative apparatus and reasserts the primacy of procedural fairness in ex parte...