Your portal to business in Botswana
Who are we?
BotswanaConnect is a Botswana registered company and belongs to the Swiss Africa Group. Our reason d’etre is to assist persons intending to enter the strong economy and stable market of Botswana with advice and service, based on experience we have gained over the last twenty-five years in Botswana.
BotswanaConnect is your all-in-one gateway to the world of Botswana. Our team are passionate individuals who will support you in every aspect of your proverbial journey to Botswana.
Our mission and vision is simple. We strive to become a reliable support organisation with which any individual can undertake their journey to the Republic of Botswana, derived from our own skills and knowledge, and that of our widespread network in Botswana. Building a strong relationship with our clients is of great importance to us as well as the positive outcome of each transaction. It is therefore our vision to be able to assist you on all kinds of levels in all your goals and objectives in Botswana.
Land in Botswana
Only a very small portion of Botswana is freehold land, the rest is mostly Tribal Land.
The Tribal Land Act has been amended to provide that Ministerial Approval no longer needs to be requested by foreigners. The authorisation has been devolved to the Land Boards, which actually makes the process easier in the sense that there are now specific requirements, and that the application for approval is no longer based only on a motivation.
Danie Goosen, is an attorney (admitted in Botswana and South Africa) and has extensive knowledge of property law in Botswana. Again, because Botswana is mostly Tribal land, it can be risky if one buys land without proper knowledge of the law.
He is very active in the drafting of Purchase Agreements and assists clients at the various levels of obtaining permission to own land in Botswana.
Since 2020, a foreigner had to pay transfer duties of 30% on a property transaction, whether the property is simply purchased directly, or shares in a company are purchased. Effective May 3, 2023, the 30% was fortunately reduced to 10% (value of property up to P2 million) and 15% (value of property over P2 million).
Swiss Africa Group will assist you to set up the right structures, to legally pay only 5% Transfer Duty.
Kindly click here to proceed to Swiss Africa Group's website.
Our Team
Danie Goosen
Direkteur
BComm LLB & Gevorderde Belastingsetifikaat
Dalene Goosen
BPharm (Pharmaciae) Certificate in Real Estate Management
[Registered as Real Estate Practitioner]
Caylin Goosen
Personal Assistant
Amatrix Developments (one of BotswanaConnect's sister companies) purchased a property in Pilane, Botswana, in 2004 on which there is currently a successful shopping center (see: https://www.time.co.bw/index.php/ commercial-projects/current-projects/pilane ). The remaining portion of this property, 6.5 hectares, is currently being developed into a clinic, service station, housing and retail component.
Danie, one of our directors, has been practicing as an attorney in South Africa since 1991 and is also admitted to practice in Botswana.
His specialist area is real estate transactions in Botswana.
BotswanaConnect’s pursuits
- Assist the would-be farmer, businessman and investor to get his business off to a good start and keep it on track
- Delegate specialised services to our panel of experts
- Our sister company, Swiss Africa Secretarial Company (Botswana), will look after your company needs
- Our sister company, Swiss Africa Fiduciary & Estate Planners (Botswana), will look after your Trust needs
Why Botswana?
- A country with a special class of Companies with company tax of only 15% per year
- Member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
- Member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Country with a well-developed legal system based on Common Law, which facilitates trade and business
- Low tax rate
- Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa and 34th in the world
- In October 2017, Standard & Poor gave Botswana an investment grade of A-, with a stable outlook, while South Africa was only given a rating of a worrying BB
- Botswana has continuously spent a large portion of its national budget on education and skills development
- The country has a thriving domestic financial sector, which includes banks, insurance companies and a growing stock exchange.
- Botswana has signed many international conventions and international guidelines to prevent money laundering and financial fraud
- There are daily flights in both directions between Gaborone and Johannesburg - the main aviation hub on the continent and the journey time is only 1 hour
- Botswana has invested in a world-class multi-service telecommunications system, which provides services over a distance
- Botswana's police service is considered the best in Africa
- No BEE or similar legislation
[Source: Botswana International Financial Service Centre]