By: Shira Petrack

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes 

Now more than ever, companies need accurate and up to date market information that can guide them in adapting their strategy to a post-Covid world. While a lot of material can be found online, busy executives do not always have the time to sift through lengthy reports to find the data points relevant to their business. To make it easier for you to get the intelligence you need to enter or expand in the African market, we have put together this short list of highlights from the 2020 Investment Climate Statement on Botswana.*

Information for Investors:

• The Government of Botswana promotes foreign investment in specific sectors, including:
  1. 1. Diamonds
     2. Water and sanitation 
     3. Electricity 
     4. Transportation 
     5. Telecommunication infrastructure 

• Other sectors (not specifically promoted by GoB) with high investment potentials are:
  1. 1. Mining 
     2. Mineral processing 
     3. Cattle 
     4. Tourism 
     5. Financial services 

• Botwana’s Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) is currently working on developing eight special economic zones throughout the country to streamline investment in sector-targeted geographic areas.
• The Botswana Investment and Trade Center (BITC) 
  1. Was designed to serve as a one-stop shop for investors or entrepreneurs looking to set up a business or a business partnership in Botswana.
  2. Supports investment projects that will diversify the economy away from dependence on diamond mining and create jobs for, and transfer skills to, Botswana citizens.
  3. Foreigners who wish to operate a business in the country are required to register and obtain the relevant licenses and permits as prescribed by the Trade Act of 2008. 

Information for Traders: 

• Botswana, along with Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and eSwatini, is a member of the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) which is the world’s oldest customs union. These five states maintain a duty free trading area with a common external tariff.
• As part of its mission to promote trade with the country, the BITC also runs the Botswana Trade Portal, which centralizes all the official information that importers or exporters need to know when setting up their trading business in the country.
• With the exception of certain foodstuff, import permits are not required for goods entering Botswana from other SACU members.
• SACU has a free trade agreement with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland through its agreement with the European Free Trade Association.
• SACU countries have signed reciprocal preferential trade agreements (PTA) with MERCOSUR countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) that are in the process of being ratified.
• Botswana is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and follows its protocol on trade.
   
• Botswana has signed an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, which provides duty and quota free access on Botswanan goods to the EU markets.
   
• Botswana and Zimbabwe have a trade agreement that provides duty-free access for goods within certain parameters.
• Botswana has signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTA), but it has yet to ratify the AfCFTA.

The Legal System: 

• The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law and influenced by English common law. The legal corpus is made up of legislation, judicial decisions, and local customary law.
• The judiciary is largely regarded as fair and impartial.
• Botswana has a specialized anti-corruption court that handles all corruption cases.
• Some litigants have complained about the turnaround time for civil and commercial cases. To expedite the process and ensure relevant judicial expertise, the Government of Botswana is planning to build a corps of specialized commercial judges within the civil court system that will handle commercial cases.   

Property Rights:

• Botswana’s constitution prohibits the nationalization of property, and the government has never pursued a policy of forced nationalization in the country’s history. The only exceptions are 
  1. 1. Expropriation in exchange for market value within the parameters of the Acquisition of Property Act;
     2. Revocation of an independent power producer’s license and confiscation of the operations in exchange for compensation for public interest purposes within the parameters of the Electricity Supply Act.
• Of the three categories of land in Botswana – freehold, state land, and tribal land – only freehold land (approximately 5% of the land in the country) can be sold to foreigners.
• State land (about 25% of the land in Botswana) can be leased for 50 years for industrial and 99 years for residential use.
• All minerals in Botswana, including those found in private lands, are treated as the property of the state.

Tax Rates:

• Botswana has a 22% corporate tax rate. The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) can grant manufacturing companies a reduced rate of 15%. The withholding tax rate on distributed dividends is 7.5%.  

*The United States State Department’s Investment Climate Statements publishes yearly analyses of foreign markets that cover almost all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. These reports can help companies make informed business decisions regarding their foreign investment and partnership. 

By: Leah Ngari

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes 

Africa’s consumer market is growing. Over the past twenty years, household spending in Sub-Saharan Africa has grown 150% faster than the population. Landry Signé at the Brookings Institution forecasts that total household consumption in Africa will reach $2.1 trillion by 2025 and 2.5 trillion by 2030*. African companies such as Azam and Bidco now include dozens of consumer brands sold across the continent. Large multinationals such as Kraft Foods, Johnson & Johnson, and Volkswagen have ramped up their presence on the continent to meet this growing demand.  

How Big is the African Consumer Class? 

While there seems to be a consensus among private-sector analysts and academic researchers that the African consumer market is growing, it is not always clear how this class is identified and measured. A globally accepted, general definition for the middle class* focuses on average yearly income. For example, the PEW Research Centre defines middle-income households as households that earn two-thirds to twice the national median income. Others categorize households as “middle class” according to total asset ownership or consumption patterns. 

None of these measures can accurately capture the magnitude and spread of Africa’s consumer class. First, data sets regarding income or purchasing patterns are often incomplete or unreliable. Many Africans derive a considerable portion of their income from informal work, which can skew official income statistics. And purchasing patterns mean different things in different places since consumer good prices vary significantly throughout the continent. A person in Lagos, Nigeria, can buy 10 liters of petrol at $4.60, while in Luanda (Angola), the same 10 liters sell for $11.50 – more than double. In eSwatini, 1 GB of Data can cost as much as $21.39, versus as little as $1.97 in Mozambique. These variations mean that consumption levels of specific goods do not necessarily indicate overall purchasing power. 

Second, measuring consumer capacity by looking at income or wealth ignores the fact that household income is often vulnerable to seasonal fluctuations. Many African middle-class members supplement their income with informal side jobs, so their income does not remain steady over time, affecting consumption habits. And for most Africans who still work in agriculture, income is affected by seasonal price fluctuations. As a result, a household’s consumption ability changes throughout the year and between years due to variations in weather patterns and commodity prices. Companies looking to build a long term strategy cannot create an effective African consumer market strategy by looking at income alone. 

Measuring the African Consumer Market

Some data consultancy companies have found ways to include income fluctuations, geographical differences, and consumption patterns when measuring the consumer class. Ipsos used the AfDB identification of the African middle class as people earning between $2-$20 per day as a starting point. Then, they added several criteria of their own to offset disparities and capture a more stable set of consumers. In their report “African Lions: Who are Africa’s rising middle class?” Ipsos suggests using the following consideration to categorize and individual as a “consumer”: disposable income (not spending more than 75% of income on groceries); productive occupation (that the individual is employed, runs a business, or is in further education); and education 

Other data consultancies have scrapped the income indicator altogether. In its report “Finding the Dynamic African Consumer,” Fraym adapted a method initially designed to classify consumers in India. This technique uses asset ownership data and educational level to identify consumers, with a higher educational level offsetting lower asset ownership and vice versa. Assets include durable assets, such as refrigerators and televisions, and household characteristics, such as piped-in water and agricultural land. 

This classification also allows for better cross-country comparisons without relying on unstable exchange rates or pricing discrepancies. Using its method, Fraym identified 330 million consumers in the region, 219 million in just five countries and 94 million in another fifteen countries. 

Why Consider the Consumer Market at the Continental Level 

Looking at the consumer market on a continental level allows companies to compare between different consumer markets in the region and strategize their growth accordingly. According to Fraym, 95% of the consumer class resides in just 20 out of the 54 countries. For example, Nigeria has about 52 million people in the consumer class, but Togo has fewer than 2 million consumers, presenting a very different market environment for investors and consumer-facing companies. 

These differences also present between cities. Lagos in Nigeria and Johannesburg in South Africa top the count with over 8 million consumers, and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Luanda in Angola have more than 4 million. Since most African consumers live in cities, companies should focus their market research on cities rather than countries. 

Using Data to Inform Strategy

Companies cannot rely on generalized income levels or spending data to assess the current magnitude or future potential of consumer demand in Africa. Businesses that want to serve Africa’s growing consumer base should use the data on the continental level to identify the cities where they could grow and invest resources to study consumers’ behaviors and characteristics in that city. The lack of readily available, reliable, and comprehensive data sets should not deter companies looking to grow in Africa from making informed strategic decisions based on realistic projections. 

*A note about Covid’s impact and terminology

Most of the projections quoted in this article pre-date the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the specific numerical forecasts need to be adjusted in light of the contraction across the continent, the considerations regarding the best ways to measure consumer demand on the continent remain.

The term “consumer class” and “middle class” are used synonymously.