According to the US Department of State, Botswana has the best credit rating in mainland Sub-Saharan Africa. The Government of Botswana offers a cutting-edge package of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract foreign investments to its tourism industry in the context of the structural reforms, it has undertaken to enhance the industry’s value chain and its multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy.
This strategy falls under the ‘Reset Agenda’ rolled out by the authorities of Botswana to transform the country into a high income economy by 2036.
Sustaining the 5% average annual growth Botswana has achieved during the last decade will require developing new sources of durable growth other than the mining sector and tourism stands out as one of the new pillars of the bubbling economy.
To encourage investment in Botswana, additional tax relief on revenue generated or capital accounts is granted to specific business development projects that will be beneficial to Botswana.
Furthermore, there are also incentives for tourism operators, but also, for agriculture and manufacturing industries, based on the geographical region where a company operates.
For instance, the Selibe Phikwe Economic Development Unit(SPEDU) region incentive provides a preferential company tax rate of 5% for the first five years of the business operation and afterwards, a special rate of 10% to qualifying businesses will be applied after approval by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
The SPEDU region covers the following areas:
Selebi-Phikwe
Bobonong
Mmadinare – Sefhophe
Lerala – Maunatlala
Neighbouring villages
In addition, the Government of Botswana may, when satisfied that a proposed project would be beneficial to the development of the country’s economy or to the economic advancement of its citizens, issue a development approval order to the business so that it reaps the benefits of the above tax regimes.
The low tax rates aim at not only giving a competitive edge to foreign investors as compared to other destinations but also, to encourage re-investments.
Furthermore, interest, commercial royalty or management consultancy fees and dividend by an International Financial Services Centre or Collective Investment Undertakings to a non-resident, are exempt from withholding tax.
Tourism is a service and customer-centred industry and to encourage companies to train their employees, they can claim a deduction of 200% of their training expenditures when determining their taxable income.
Botswana is one of the few countries in Africa with no foreign exchange control and it has created the conducive environment for the increasing flow of foreign direct investments.
To assist investors, the Government of Botswana has created the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) which spares no effort in streamlining business-related procedures and eliminating bureaucratic impediments to facilitate the ease of doing business recommendations of the World Bank.
Last but not least, the country has already implemented Online Business Registration System (OBRS) reducing the time frame for the business registration process.
In order to discover tourism investment opportunities in Botswana, you can attend the first-ever Botswana Tourism Investment Summit jointly organized by the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) and International Tourism Investment Corporation Ltd (ITIC) and in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) , a member of the World Bank Group will take place on 22 to 24 November 2023 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC), Botswana.
The Summit will be instrumental in raising awareness of the Botswana potentials and investment opportunities to the world by leveraging on the country’s sound corporate governance, rule of law and structural reforms already initiated and largely implemented.
In addition, Botswana is the second safest country to live in Africa and has created the conducive environment that enhances the ease of doing business leading to the right business climate to attract foreign direct investments.
To attend Botswana Tourism Investment Summit on 22 – 24 November 2023, Please register here www.investbotswana.uk
