Botswana is stepping up its drive to attract Korean capital, technology and industrial partnerships as it seeks to reduce its dependence on diamonds and build a more diversified economy.
Vice-President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe used the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference in Seoul to urge Korean companies to test Botswana’s investment proposition, highlighting opportunities in energy, manufacturing, agriculture, strategic minerals, artificial intelligence and financial services.
The pitch comes as Botswana targets US$37 billion in cumulative investment by 2036, with government seeking to develop a more diversified, export-oriented and technology-driven economy.
The shift is being driven in part by structural changes in the diamond market. The rapid growth of laboratory-grown diamonds and changing consumer preferences are increasingly challenging the long-term outlook for natural diamonds, adding urgency to Botswana’s diversification plans.
Korean investment is being targeted not simply for capital, but for its potential to bring technology, skills and manufacturing capacity into Botswana. Government wants foreign investors to help establish local value chains and connect domestic companies to international markets.
Strategic minerals offer another potential area of cooperation. Korea’s demand for minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries and AI infrastructure could create opportunities for Botswana to move beyond exporting raw materials towards processing and manufacturing.
Agriculture, meanwhile, is being positioned as a commercial investment opportunity, with opportunities identified in technology, irrigation, food processing and value addition. Energy and digital infrastructure are also central to the government’s transformation agenda.
The challenge now is converting the investment pitch into bankable projects that deliver jobs, skills transfer, citizen participation and exports.
With US$37 billion on the table by 2036, Gaolathe’s Seoul message marks a deliberate attempt to reposition Botswana as an investment destination whose proposition extends beyond diamonds to minerals, agriculture, energy, manufacturing and the digital economy.