9th October 2025
Own Correspondent
President Duma Boko today officially opened 2025 Pula Global Expo, held under the theme “Unlocking Botswana’s Potential: Partnership for Sustainable Growth,” reaffirming his publicly stated ambitions to transform the country into “a high-income, digitally enabled, export-driven, and people-centered nation.”
The Expo features the Pula Investment Conference, a high-level platform designed to spotlight Botswana’s most investment-ready opportunities while fostering direct engagement between government, investors, and the private sector.
The event has drawn leaders from government, business, and international organizations to explore investment prospects, showcase transformative projects, and mobilize resources for Botswana’s sustainable growth agenda.
He also unveiled the “Investor Deal Book,” an investment portfolio aimed at accelerating the southern African country’s economic transformation from diamond dependence and fostering sustainable growth. It features 66 projects developed to deliver measurable and transformative results.
“This marks a pivotal moment in our effort to catalyze sustainable economic growth and long-term development,” said President Duma Gideon Boko in opening remarks at the official opening of the 2025 Global Expo Botswana at Fairgrounds Holdings Conference Centre, Gaborone.
He said, “We envision a Botswana where every citizen has equal opportunities, a stable income and the empowerment to lead a fulfilling life. Our unwavering commitment to this vision is reflected in our progress and resilience.
According to officials Botswana has seen a remarkable surge in Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) flows, from US$1.98billion in 2023 to US$4.67billion in 2024, more than doubling year on year.
“This outstanding growth underscores the confidence that global investors continue to place in Botswana as a stable, competitive and forward looking investment destination,” said Boko.
In 2024 officials say they launched 8 new greenfield projects in areas as diverse as renewable energy, software development and IT service with a combined capital expenditure of US$374million.
The annual investment event draws leaders from government, business, and international organizations to explore investment prospects, showcase transformative projects, and mobilize resources for Botswana’s sustainable growth agenda.
A new feature at this year’s Expo was also Botswana Oil’s Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) Pavilion, which housed five citizen-owned companies that are beneficiaries of BOL’s empowerment initiatives.
These companies represent a diverse mix of youth-led, women-owned, start-up, and established businesses that have thrived through BOL’s facilitation, support, and value chain inclusion programs.
Further enhancing this year’s experience, BOL introduced a podcast series that spotlights the stories of CEEP beneficiaries. Each episode features the entrepreneurs sharing their journey, lessons learned, and the opportunities unlocked through BOL’s empowerment programme.
In alignment with President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko’s rallying call, “Together, we invest, build, and transform to propel Botswana toward sustainable growth and prosperity.”
Botswana Oil Limited, the country’s national oil company, remains committed to advancing its coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, despite growing global challenges in securing funding for coal-related initiatives.
Gamu Mpofu, Senior Manager – New Ventures at Botswana Oil, emphasized the project’s significant potential to create thousands of jobs and catalyze industrial development.
“We are actively pursuing the coal-to-liquid initiative. Recognizing the technological complexities involved, we conducted a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) feasibility study. It was important to identify a reputable partner with deep expertise in this area,” Mpofu said.
He said, “The study confirmed the project’s potential and highlighted the importance of its development for Botswana.”
During the Entrepreneurs and Creatives Day at global EXPO, the spotlight shone on a powerful dialogue —𝘐𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘢, 𝘕𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘕𝘬𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪 𝘎𝘢𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦, 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘔𝘳. 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯.
The discussion explored Botswana’s bold economic vision under new leadership, highlighting the nation’s drive to become Africa’s leading gateway for investment, powered by innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative growth.
Key themes included intra-continental investment, catalytic capital, policy frameworks, and the imperative for shared prosperity and narrative ownership across the continent.
Globally the creative sector is booming with exports growing by 29% since 2017 to reach USD 1.4 trillion while creative goods exports rose by 19% to USD 713 billion. Creative services now represent 19% of global service exports, underscoring the sectors centrality to modern trade and innovation.
In Botswana creatives contribute about 3.1% of GDP and employ 6.2% of the workforce.
BITC Board Chairperson, Ms. Gomolemo L. E. Madikgetla, expressed gratitude to members of the diplomatic community, BITC for successfully executing the event, and all partners and participants who contributed to its success.
She highlighted that the Pula Investment Conference continues to catalyze promise into action, emphasized BITC’s commitment to prioritizing the creative and sports economies, and thanked all sponsors who made the event possible.
“This is more than a meeting. It is a marketplace of ideas and an incubator of partnerships – a space where talent meets capital and vision meets scale,” said Madikgetla.
She said, “We shine a bright light on a sector long known for talent and vibrancy but now rights recognized as a drive of economic growth – the creative sector.
