Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, has called for accelerated economic diversification through investment in local enterprises, industrial development and export-oriented businesses.
Giving welcome remarks at the inaugural Botswana Investment Forum 2026 in Gaborone, Ntsima highlighted the prolonged weakness in diamond demand and its impact on national income as evidence of the urgent need to build a more resilient economy.
He emphasised that Botswana must move beyond financing businesses to developing competitive enterprises capable of manufacturing, processing and exporting goods and services.
He further called for stronger partnerships between investors and local businesses, improved infrastructure, access to regional markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and greater participation of local suppliers in major investment projects.
Ntsima stressed that investment must translate into productive economic activity, sustainable businesses and meaningful job creation
