Things have not worked out quite as planned for Botswana’s International Financial Services Centre. The initiative was launched three years ago in a bid to bring banks and insurance companies to set up operations in the country, using it as a gateway to other parts of Africa. But the businesses that have taken advantage of the incentives on offer are mostly from other sectors.
“In the experience, as it has turned out, we have seen more interest from holding and administration companies,” says Alan Boshwaen, the government agency’s chief executive. The 33 companies registered in the IFSC represent a range of activities from tourism to information technology, with a small number of regional banks and fund managers. Most are South African interests or companies relocating operations from Zimbabwe, part of the exodus from that country’s hyperinflationary economy.
