Growth in financial sector potential boon for jobs in Botswana
Business
Recent economic data from Botswana shows that the country is bucking the trend of surrounding Southern African countries, with GDP growing by 3.2% for the year ending in June 2017. One of the biggest non-mining sectors showing a lot of potential is the financial services sector, which had an interesting year.
To begin with, First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) and Bank Gaborone opened new branches; Ford Finance developed partnerships in Botswana, and the Southern African operation of Zurich Insurance, now known as Bryte Insurance, launched in Gaborone in February with the intention of expanding into other African countries. Fintech is also taking root in Botswana, with companies like Direct Pay Online opening shop in April, while cryptocurrencies and mobile wallets are gaining more users and offering greater financial inclusion to consumers in the country.
This investment is good news for a sector that has demonstrated over several years that it is stable and robust. According to the African Economic Outlook 2017, Botswana has been making steady progress in increasing access to financial services for its population. Since 2009, the banked population has increased by 25%. From a low base, cell phone banking rose by over 370% and Internet banking by 200% during the same period.
This growth in the sector is good news, too, for employment, which continues to be a challenge for the Botswana economy. While unemployment is starting to show a slight decrease according to the latest statistics, it is still considered to be too high at 17%. Botswana suffered historic job losses following the global financial crisis, especially in the mining sector. State owned enterprises have also retrenched hundreds of employees over the past decade.
The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities for accounting professionals in the country – the bad news is that there are not currently enough people able to take these up. The Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) says there is a huge need for chartered accountants, professionals and technicians. There are currently 3,136 registered BICA members (1,223 accounting professionals and 1,913 being accounting technicians) which falls short of demand. The shortage means that Botswana has to import expatriates for accounting services. Many qualified accountants also leave the country to work overseas.
To take advantage of growth in this sector in order to reduce unemployment in the country, more needs to be done to ensure that people – especially young people – have the relevant skills and are encouraged to consider a career in the financial sector. Many young people, for instance assume because they are not strong in mathematics at school that finance is not a viable career option for them, but this is in fact not the case. Many thousands of accounting students graduate each year around the world and many of them did not have an A-level in Maths when they started their studies.
So what can government do? According the African Economic Outlook, the Botswana government is already doing a good job of creating an enabling environment for business and ensuring good regulation and oversight of the sector – considered vital for its continued growth. The 2016/17 Global Competitiveness Report ranked the country 65 out of 138 in financial market development.
Government can also intervene more directly in targeted skills development such as it did in 2016, when the Department of Treasury and Funding sponsored 600 students in studies with AAT (the Association of Accounting Technicians) to equip them with skills to work in the fast-growing financial services market.
AAT is not new to Botswana. It is the UK’s leading qualification and professional body for vocational accountants and has offered its AAT Accounting Qualifications in Botswana to over 4,000 students a year – the largest cohort of students outside the UK – for 26 years. AAT works with the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), to give students the opportunity to gain practical skills that fast track their careers in finance – without the need to go to university or study for many years.
While government involvement is critical, the private sector and business networks also need to step up to create opportunities for employment and advancement in the industry – in the form of internships and other opportunities – or by investing in their employees directly to upskill them.
Such an approach benefitted Pyoka Mfuni, a manager at accounting and auditing giant Grant Thornton. Mfuni says that after finishing high school, he noticed that many jobs advertised were finance and audit related so he decided to pursue a career in the field. “That was when I discovered the AAT course at the Botswana Accountancy College. It was shorter than and relatively as good as an accounting degree.” After successfully completing his studies he was able to secure a foot on the ladder that led to his current role.
It is possible to replicate this success story. The World Bank report, Doing Business 2017, ranks Botswana among Africa’s best performers. For the second successive year, the country’s ranking improved, from 72 to 71 out of 190 economies (from 74 to 72 in the previous year), making it the third best performer in Africa. The country is poised for growth and with the right investment and training, its people can take advantage of this.
The added advantage of investing in financial skills is not only will it boost the finance sector itself, it is also good for business and entrepreneurship more broadly, fuelling the growth of the economy in other sectors too. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Botswana has one of the most entrepreneurial populations in Africa, but a lack of financial skills is holding it back from making a greater impact on the economy.
The message is clear, investing in finance skills makes sense and should be a priority for business and government alike in 2018. With wise investment and by working together, they can continue to ride the wave of growth towards low unemployment and a high tech future!
Andrew Williamson is Director of Marketing and Commercial at AAT (the Association for Accounting Technicians).
Business
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Business
Grit divests from Letlole La Rona
Grit Services Limited, a member of the pan African real estate group, London Stock Exchange listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is divesting from Letlole La Rona Limited (LLR), a local real estate company established by government investment arm Botswana Development Corporation over a decade ago.
The Board of Directors of Letlole La Rona Limited this week announced in a statement to Unitholders that Grit Services Limited (‘Grit’) has informed them of its intention to exit its investment in the company.
Grit has been a material shareholder in LLR since 2019. On 07 March 2023, Grit sold 6 421 000 linked units, representing 2.29% of the Company’s total securities in issue, at a market value of BWP 22 537 710.
This trade follows previous sales of 6.79% in December 2022, as communicated to Unitholders on 10 January 2023, as well as a further sale of 4.78% (representing 13 347 068 linked units) on 24 February 2023 to various shareholders.
In aggregate, Grit has sold 13.9% shareholding in the Letlole La Rona between December 2022 and March 2023, resulting in current shareholding of 11.25% in the Company.
Letlole La Rona said in the statement that the exit process will take place in an orderly manner so as to maintain stability of the Company’s share price.
The statement explained that Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with its decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than US dollar, Euro or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
“Grit has announced similar decisions pertaining to certain of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently. The Company would like to advise Unitholders that it remains focused on long-term value delivery to all stakeholders” LLR said
In July last year as part of their Go-to-Africa strategy Letlole La Rona acquired an initial 30% equity stake in Orbit Africa Logistics, with an option to increase this investment to 50%. OAL is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius, owning an industrial asset in a prime industrial node in Nairobi, Kenya.
The co-investment was done alongside a wholly owned subsidiary of London listed Grit. The Orbit facility is situated on a prime industrial site on Mombasa Road, the principal route south of Nairobi center, serving the main industrial node, the port of Mombasa and the industrial town of Athi River and is strategically located 11 kilometers south of the international airport and 9.6 kilometers from the Inland Container Depot.
Grit shareholding in Letlole La Rona was seen as strategic for LLR, for the company to leverage on Grit’s already existing continental presence and expand its wings beyond Botswana borders as already delivered by Kenya transaction.
Media reports have however suggested that LLR and Grit have since late last year had fundamental disagreements on how to go about the Go-to-Africa strategy amongst other things, fuelled by alleged Botswana government interference on the affairs of LLR.
Government through LLR founding shareholder – Botswana Development Corporation has a controlling stake of around 40 percent in the company. Government is the sole shareholder of Botswana Development Corporation.
Letlole La Rona recently released their financial results for the six months ended December 2022, revenue increased by 4% to P50.2 million from P48.4 million in the prior comparative six months, whilst operating profit was up 8% to P36.5 million. Profit before tax of P49.7 million was reported, an increase of 8% on the prior comparative six months.
“We are encouraged by the strong results, notwithstanding a challenging economic environment. Our performance was mainly underpinned by annual lease escalations, our quality tenant base and below average market vacancy levels, especially in our warehouse portfolio,” Kamogelo Mowaneng, Letlole La Rona Chief Executive Officer commented.
LLR reported a weighted average lease expiry period of 3.3 years and escalation rates averaging 6.8% per annum for the period ended 31 December 2022.Its investment portfolio value increased by 14% year-on-year to close the period at P1.4 billion, mainly driven by the acquisition of a 30% stake in OAL in July 2022.
The Company also recorded a significant increase in other income, predominantly due to foreign exchange gains on the OAL shareholder loan. “We continue to explore pipeline opportunities locally, and regionally in line with our Go-to-Africa strategy and our interest remains on value-accretive investments,” Mowaneng said.
An interim distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit was declared on the 6th of February 2023 for the half-year period to 31 December 2022, comprising of a dividend of 0.05 thebe and debenture interest of 9.06 thebe per linked unit which will be paid to linked unit holders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 24 February 2023.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.