For the past two years, Botswana has been promised close to P1 trillion in investments, but so far many of the names attached to the extravagant promises are raising more questions than confidence.
A Sunday Standard data driven investigation into more than P800 billion in promised capital and signed MOUs has revealed a widening gap between headline capital commitments and verifiable economic delivery.
Over the past two years, Botswana has hosted a surge of ‘high profile’ investors, multi-billion-dollar project announcements and international roadshows aimed at repositioning the economy beyond diamonds. But beneath the optimism lies a troubling possibility that much of the country’s investment boom may not be real.
Sunday Standard investigation could not come up with a single multi-billion Pula investment promise announced over the past two years that has reached financial close.
First was the USD 12 billion (about P160 billion) partnership announced between the Government of Botswana, the Botswana Development Corporation and Qatar’s Al Mansour Holdings.
In an official statement to Parliament, the Ministry of Finance clarified that the agreement signed in August 2025 is ‘simply a pledge to invest in viable large-scale projects once they meet required standards’. Because the deal functions as a preliminary framework rather than immediate liquid capital, international financial institutions have reacted with caution. For instance, the RMB (Rand Merchant Bank) excluded the entire USD 12 billion pledge from its economic modeling and growth forecasts for Botswana, citing deepening skepticism over when-or if-the capital will actually.
Then there was the USD 50 billion (‘Dubai-style’) Zotus Smart City project (also promoted as Kalahari City) which remains heavily weighted toward early-stage structuring, planning, and regulatory processes, with no verifiable financial close.
While heavily publicized by the BITC and high-profile marketing campaigns, official government clarifications confirm the capital has not yet been secured or deployed:
The agreements signed thus far-such as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Land Transfer with the Ghanzi District Council-are non-binding frameworks. They outline the general principles of cooperation rather than concrete financial obligations.
The BITC publicly confirmed that no binding financial agreement has been signed.
There has been significant public question, political scrutiny, and media skepticism regarding the investors behind the Zotus Smart City.
While BITC and project developers have defended the project’s legitimacy, the USD 50 billion (about P670 billion) (‘Dubai-style’) mega-project has faced sharp criticism centered on the financial background, corporate history, and capacity of its primary promoters.
Media reports and domestic critics raised concerns that the Zotus Group had no visible past track record of executing mega-infrastructure developments or notable historic undertakings of this scale. Zotus Group CEO Davison Simango stated that their role is that of a ‘facilitator’ to coordinate reputable banks, sovereign wealth funds, and technical experts. However, because of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), the actual deep-pocketed institutional backing and specific identities of the secondary investors could not be publicly revealed to the public or media, further fueling skepticism.
Most recently, another investor from Mauritius indicated that he was in the process of transferring EUR 5 billion (about P 77 billion) to Botswana to fund a number of local projects. Alithea Investments in currently locked in a high-profile High Court dispute with First National Bank Botswana over an alleged EUR 500 million, which the company MD claims was the first tranche of the promised EUR 5 billion. Alithea directors have fled Botswana, claiming their feared for their lives. In a telephone conversation with the Sunday Standard, they claimed that they have been received threatening anonymous calls and were being tailed by suspicious vehicles.
These questionable investments have created what analysts describe as a credibility gap between institutional visibility (meetings, MOUs, announcements) and economic reality (financed, built, operational projects.)
Further investigations reveal that only two projects come closest to verifiable economic delivery.
The first is the Bonno Housing Project which has faced major cash flow challenges and funding constraints. Rather than failing to reach standard commercial financial close, the core issue stems from delayed government funding and subsequent non-delivery against initial targets
The Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) reported that limited funding from the government has severely slowed down construction. For instance, out of 295 targeted housing units in a recent financial cycle, only 58 were started (with 30 completed).
The second is the multi-decade power agreement-valued at over USD $12 billion across multiple national sectors-was signed by President Duma Boko, which includes the 500 MW Maun Solar-Plus-Storage Project. Sunday Standard investigations have however turned up information that the multi-decade power agreement has not reached a financial close, including the 500 MW Maun Solar-Plus-Storage Project recently launched by President Boko.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that there is currently a division among the country’s two biggest cabinet members over bankable commercial agreements to transition the project from its early site construction phase to full financial close. It is also understood that the state-owned Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is refusing to act as the guaranteed offtaker, and has the backing from an influential section of cabinet. The deal is dependent on BPC purchasing all generated electricity under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), providing the financial security required to back the capital investment.
Sunday Standard can further reveal that only two non-mining major projects reached financial close in the past two years, and these were project initiated by the previous government. The first was the 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Mmamabula Energy project which was officially signed on July 25, 2023.
The agreement was signed between BPC and Jindal Energy Botswana. This initial signing cleared the path for project financing, leading to the official groundbreaking ceremony later that year on October 6, 2023.
The Mmamabula Energy Project officially reached financial close on October 7, 2025.
Jindal Energy Botswana celebrated the milestone after finalising a P15 billion funding package (approximately USD $1 billion) from a consortium of lenders led by Axis Bank. This brought total committed capital to roughly P18 billion, including the equity already injected by Jindal into early site preparation and structural works.
The second project was the P1.5 billion Mmadinare Solar Complex which is governed by two separate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed in different phases. Phase 1 (First 60 MW): The binding 25-year agreement was officially signed on August 31, 2022, between Scatec ASA and BPC. Phase 2 (Second 60 MW Expansion): The expansion agreement that doubled the complex’s capacity to 120 MW was officially awarded and signed in the third quarter of 2023.
Together, these two agreements completed the framework for the entire P1.5 billion project.
The P1.5 billion Mmadinare Solar Complex reached financial close in two distinct phases: Phase 1 (First 60 MW): Achieved financial close on December 15, 2023. This allowed Scatec ASA to mobilize resources and break ground on the project in March 2024.
Phase 2 (60 MW Expansion): Achieved financial close on December 19, 2024. This second milestone locked in the final portion of the total P1.5 billion investment, backed by non-recourse project debt from RMB (FNB) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).