NEW YORK, United States – Botswana President Duma Boko said on Friday his country will establish a citizenship-by-investment programme, as his country looks to diversify its economy away from its largest export, diamonds.
Botswana’s budget has been constrained this year due to a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market. It is the world’s leading producer of diamonds by value.
“This programme will enable us to continue to secure the long-term financial future of Botswana,” Boko said in a statement.
The new programme will raise funds to address priority needs including the housing market as well as the country’s tourism industry, renewable energy, mining and financial services sectors, according to the statement. The investment amount required for citizenship has yet to be established.
Botswana’s economy contracted 3 percent last year, and the government forecasts another contraction in 2025 because of the diamond downturn.
Boko declared a public health emergency in August after the nation’s medical supply chain failed. In September, the country set up a new sovereign wealth fund to drive economic diversification, create jobs and manage state companies.
Botswana has retained investment migration consultancy, Arton Capital, under a memorandum of understanding to establish the citizenship programme.
The country’s economic output fell sharply in the second quarter, reflecting a steep decline in output from its key diamond industry, data from the statistics agency showed on Friday.
Gross domestic product decreased 5.3 percent in year-on-year terms, the steepest quarterly contraction since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Diamond production in carats declined 43.1 percent in the second quarter of 2025. The steep decline reflects the diamond companies continued effort to scale down operations amid sluggish global demand,” the statistics agency said in a report. – Reuters
