The Republic of Botswana has launched the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) , a comprehensive national framework aimed at reshaping the nation’s economy for resilience, competitiveness, and inclusive growth. The programme was presented to Parliament by the Vice President and Minister of Finance, Honourable Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe, on November 6, 2025.
Execution is the New Priority
For decades, diamond revenues underpinned Botswana’s economic success , but this prosperity also exposed structural weaknesses, including limited diversification, high unemployment, poverty, inequality, and fiscal pressures that now threaten sustainable growth. While Botswana has never lacked sound policies, the real challenge lies in execution. Too often, good ideas stall due to weak coordination, delayed decisions, and limited accountability.
The BETP takes a bold step to address this by instituting a culture of clear priorities, ensuring every project is both visionary and investment-ready. The programme commits to long-term policies that outlive political cycles and to progress measured by enduring prosperity.
The BETP was developed through a comprehensive diagnostic assessment, a Strategic Cabinet Workshop, and multi-sectoral labs. This extensive “all-of-government, all-of-stakeholders” approach included consultations with Parliament, district leaders, Dikgosi, the private sector, trade unions, and development partners. Furthermore, the government received 6,925 submissions from Batswana and the international community through a call for ideas, underscoring the deep ambition for Botswana’s transformation agenda. The ideas were screened, prioritised, and developed in the intensive BETP Labs, where 250 to 300 participants worked for four weeks to refine and test project ideas, turning them into practical, actionable solutions.
Strategy: From Announcement to Achievement
The BETP aligns both new and ongoing efforts under one execution framework that drives focus, coordination, and accountability from start to finish. Some projects, previously stalled due to poor coordination or limited capacity, such as the A1 Highway upgrade, Milk Valley Farm, and the National Digital ID, are now moving forward.
A significant feature of the programme is its focus on private-sector leadership: Sixty percent of BETP projects are privately led and financed. The government’s role is to act as a facilitator by resolving obstacles like land allocation, business permits, and inter-ministerial coordination. This replaces ‘announce and abandon’ with a culture of ‘start, sustain, and finish’.
The overarching national aspiration, or “True North,” has been collectively crystallised as “A digitally enabled, export-led, and diversified high-income economy where every Motswana is employed, empowered, and fulfilled”.
To ensure sustained follow-through, a dedicated Secretariat has been established within the Ministry of Finance to mechanise BETP priorities and projects. This structure establishes a predictable rhythm of reporting and review, which includes weekly updates from ministries’ coordination teams, monthly steering sessions, and quarterly Presidential progress sessions. This governance system ensures continuous accountability and timely resolution of challenges.
Sectoral Focus and Catalytic Reforms
The BETP focuses on six economic sectors—Tourism, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Financial Services and Digitalisation, Energy and Mining, and Infrastructure—and three social priorities—Healthcare, Education, and Social Protection.
Each BETP project serves as a pathfinder, informing legislative and policy reforms in areas such as land allocation, permits, and business licensing. Key proposed reforms identified in the BETP Labs include:
Amending the Energy Act to allow direct power purchase agreements and renewable energy trading, opening space for private power generation.
Simplifying the Environmental Assessment Act with a faster, risk-based process for renewable energy projects.
Updating the Agrochemicals Act to recognize organic inputs, which will help farmers access better markets.
In Agriculture, 26 priority projects, such as Botswana’s National Chilli Export Value Chain and Large-Scale Hemp Production, aim to strengthen livestock value chains and expand commercial crops. Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hemp Innovations during the Labs to fast-track development, targeting a minimum of BWP 500 million in investment and 6,000 jobs.
In Manufacturing, 22 priority projects, including the Green Battery Metals Refinery, IV fluids manufacturing, and Clean Mobility Vehicle Assembly, will position Botswana as a regional manufacturing centre. This relies on skills transformation to modernise technical education and build a capable workforce.
For Financial Services and Digitalisation, goals include having at least 90 percent of citizens registered under the National Digital ID and 30 government services fully accessible online by 2026. Early wins include the Citizen Wallet Initiative, which will enhance interoperability between banks and mobile wallets. The establishment of the Botswana National Re-Insurer (BotsRE) will also deepen financial markets by retaining local premiums and building national expertise.
In Infrastructure, 26 priority projects, including the A1 Highway Upgrade, North-South Rail Corridor, and operationalisation of Special Economic Zones, will expand trade access and strengthen Botswana’s role as a regional transport and investment hub.
In Energy and Mining, the aim is to expand energy capacity tenfold by 2036, positioning Botswana as a regional exporter. Projects like the Hala Energy Solar Plant and Karoo Oil Refinery will place Botswana at the forefront of clean energy investment. Mining will also expand non-diamond exports through new processing plants such as the Manganese Plant and Copper Refineries.
Expected National Outcomes and Call for Partnership
The full execution of the 186 identified projects and initiatives under the BETP is expected to reshape the foundation of the economy. Over a 10-year period, the programme is expected to:
Mobilise BWP 514 billion in cumulative investment.
Create over 512,000 jobs.
Lift Botswana’s Gross National Income per capita to USD 15,730 by 2036, firmly placing the nation within the ranks of high-income economies.
These figures are presented as conservative yet credible baselines, anchored in 186 verified projects with defined milestones and accountability measures.
The programme is built on partnership—a partnership of government, private sector, development partners, and citizens. The Vice President invited Botswana’s financiers, institutional investors, bankers, cooperatives, and entrepreneurs to join hands with government in injecting capital into ready projects that require co-financing. The BETP provides the platform to work as one nation for one destiny.
The Vice President moved that the Honourable House resolves to approve the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme as the national framework for driving Botswana’s economic transformation agenda and endorses the implementation of its proposed projects and legislative reforms.
