For the first time in more than half a century, Botswana is turning a political page and, with it, the script of its economy. The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government, led by Advocate Duma Gideon Boko, has taken office pledging to write a new chapter for a nation long defined by diamonds. With unemployment stubbornly at 27.6% and more than 70% of the population under 35, the question shaping Gaborone’s corridors of power is this, what comes after diamonds?
In many ways, this is Botswana’s most pivotal economic moment since independence. The country’s diamond partnership with De Beers built a globally admired model of resource governance, one that transformed a poor, landlocked territory into one of Africa’s most stable and well-managed economies. Yet the same foundation that secured Botswana’s prosperity now risks becoming a ceiling. Minerals still contribute roughly a third of GDP and more than 85% of export earnings, but global diamond demand is cooling under pressure from lab-grown alternatives and shifting consumer habits. The new administration is betting that innovation, sustainability, and regional integration can power a post-diamond renaissance.
President Boko has called for a “self-reliant, forward-thinking” Botswana, one that harnesses technology, green industries, and the talents of its youth. The pivot is not merely rhetorical. The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has unveiled a policy framework that prioritizes diversification into sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, and circular manufacturing. If the agenda holds, it will redefine how Botswana creates value, from mining and exporting raw materials to designing and processing them domestically.
Mining still runs deep in the country’s story, but the mineral map is widening. At Sua Pan, near the Makgadikgadi salt flats, Botswana Ash Limited operates one of the world’s lowest-cost soda ash and salt facilities. Acting Managing Director Othusitse Seokamo projects that the country’s 400 million-ton deposit can sustain production for more than fifty years. Soda ash is essential in glass, detergents, and now in the manufacture of lithium batteries, placing Botswana in a position to supply a decarbonizing global economy rather than merely extract from it.
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Agriculture, once sidelined by the glitter of diamonds, is another frontier. Botswana’s semi-arid climate masks a deeper asset: extensive groundwater reserves and vast tracts of underutilized land. Currently, local producers meet less than a fifth of domestic cereal demand, forcing the country to import maize, wheat, and sorghum from South Africa and Zambia.
Bokomo Botswana’s CEO, Werner De Beer, sees an opportunity to reverse that imbalance. With targeted irrigation investment and improved grain storage infrastructure, Botswana could not only secure its own food supply but emerge as a sub-Saharan breadbasket. In a region where the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates cereal imports will rise by 30% over the next decade, the economics of local production are compelling. Each 10,000 hectares of irrigated farmland could generate roughly 3,000 direct jobs and inject millions of pula into rural economies.
Tourism, long anchored in the pristine Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park, is evolving too. Before the pandemic, travel and tourism contributed nearly 13% of GDP and sustained more than 80,000 jobs. The Botswana Tourism Organisation under CEO Keitumetse Setlang now wants to double that footprint within five years by expanding into conference (MICE) tourism, cultural circuits, and culinary experiences. The shift aims to capture higher-value segments while dispersing benefits beyond the north. Regions such as Kgalagadi and Tswapong are being developed for community-led eco-lodges, diversifying income streams and embedding conservation in local economies. If successful, Botswana’s model could rival Rwanda’s or Namibia’s in merging tourism, biodiversity, and brand equity into one sustainable growth engine.
Perhaps most striking is how environmental stewardship is being reframed as an industry in itself. Waste that once left the country for processing is now turned into market-ready products through firms such as Champs Botswana, co-founded by Baleseng Buzwani. By investing in domestic treatment facilities and aligning with international recycling standards, Botswana is monetizing sustainability while cutting emissions. The government’s new Green Economy Strategy envisions waste valorisation, water reuse, and renewable energy providing 15% of GDP growth by 2035, a bold, data-backed commitment that aligns with its updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.
Yet, even as Botswana seeks new engines of growth, it is guarding the institutional stability that has long distinguished it. The nation’s per capita income remains among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, around US$8,000 in 2024, but the government acknowledges that wealth concentration and youth unemployment threaten long-term cohesion. Hence, the diversification drive is as much about inclusion as it is about innovation. Public-private partnerships are being restructured to favour citizen participation, while entrepreneurship funds are targeting youth-led ventures in agritech, recycling, and digital services. The hope is to generate not just GDP, but ownership.
Regionally, Botswana’s location gives it leverage few others possess. Land borders with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Namibia place it at the centre of the Southern African Development Community’s trade routes. By investing in logistics corridors, cold-chain storage, and cross-border digital customs, the new government aims to position Gaborone as a hub for value-added exports. Already, feasibility studies are under way for solar-powered logistics parks that could lower transport emissions and operational costs across the region.
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If diamonds were the foundation of Botswana’s twentieth-century miracle, the twenty-first will hinge on how effectively it reinvests that legacy into sustainability, human capital, and innovation. The sparkle is no longer only in the stones beneath the Kalahari, but in the ideas, industries, and institutions emerging above it. In the words of President Boko, “Botswana must be known not only for what we extract from the earth, but for what we create with our minds.”
