Botswana wants greater control over the diamond industry that built its economy. But with revenues falling and the natural diamond market under pressure, acquiring a majority stake in De Beers could become either a historic economic power move—or an extraordinarily expensive gamble.
Botswana’s national cattle herd has fallen from 2.6 million to under one million head since 2010, and the food import bill reached P14.7 billion in 2024. Can precision farming, drone monitoring, and AI-driven agri-tech rebuild Botswana’s agricultural sector — and make it attractive to the 44% of young Batswana who are unemployed?
Botswana’s inflation surge reveals how deeply global commodity shocks affect local prices. With heavy reliance on imported fuel, food and South African supply chains, can energy diversification, stronger domestic production and alternative trade routes build lasting economic resilience?