Why Does Everyone Want To Start a Restaurant? Why Do Most Fail? and How to Actually Win in the Southern African Food Business
If you want to understand the entrepreneurial mindset in Southern Africa, look at what people talk about when they talk about "starting a business." Usually one of the ideas that comes to the table is some form of food business. A cool kota spot, a local shisanyama spot with a twist, or a trendy café. The passion is real, but the reality on the ground is brutal. The food industry is one of the hardest places to make money.
Are Batswana's Cattle Farms Profitable? Is Farming a Good Business to Start?
For many Batswana, owning a cattle post is a cultural milestone, a symbol of wealth, and a perceived route to financial security. However, when we objectively look at the numbers, Batswana's traditional approach to farming fails almost every basic test of a viable investment vehicle or business model.
Botswana's Diamond Days are over....What direction should we take?
With the diamond era coming to an end, the most dangerous response is to pretend we still have time and not get clear on what industries will fill in the gaps left by diamonds.
Why Does Everyone Want To Start a Restaurant? Why Do Most Fail? and How to Actually Win in the Southern African Food Business
If you want to understand the entrepreneurial mindset in Southern Africa, look at what people talk about when they talk about "starting a business." Usually one of the ideas that comes to the table is some form of food business. A cool kota spot, a local shisanyama spot with a twist, or a trendy café. The passion is real, but the reality on the ground is brutal. The food industry is one of the hardest places to make money.
Are Batswana's Cattle Farms Profitable? Is Farming a Good Business to Start?
For many Batswana, owning a cattle post is a cultural milestone, a symbol of wealth, and a perceived route to financial security. However, when we objectively look at the numbers, Batswana's traditional approach to farming fails almost every basic test of a viable investment vehicle or business model.
Botswana's Diamond Days are over....What direction should we take?
With the diamond era coming to an end, the most dangerous response is to pretend we still have time and not get clear on what industries will fill in the gaps left by diamonds.
Most of people look at SpaceX as a space exploration company with huge potential to innovate and deliver services from space however they have covertly pitched and IPO’d themselves as an AI company while they have no leadership in AI and rely on the hope of gaining an edge by deploying AI services from space. While in reality they are simply a telecoms company with great marketing.
Should the Bank of Botswana be raising interest rates to counter the inflation caused by the US-Iran War?
The Bank of Botswana (BoB) just released their April 2026 MPC statement, they've increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MoPR) by 200 basis points from 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent. This policy decision is intended to strengthen policy transmission and they've directed commercial banks not to increase their Prime Lending Rates (PLRs) Their policy approach directly reflects an economic dilemma and tightrope every central bank has to walk on.
Why Africa's Best Businesses Are Simple and 'Boring'
Business media, funding rounds and pitching competitions will have you thinking the only way to make money today is by building a complex tech platform, a flashy FinTech app, or a slick SaaS product. But the reality of doing business in Africa the most successful businesses are the boring ones.
The African Economics of 'Showing-Off' & Social Status
Urban African households with low-mid incomes allocate large, out-sized shares of their budgets to luxury goods, nightlife, and status-signaling consumption, while savings rates remain stubbornly low and real capital/wealth accumulation lags far behind consumption growth. This is not irrational behavior it is strategic adaptation to environments where formal institutions are weak, inequality persists, and therefore traditional markers of wealth and paths to capital accumulation remain inaccessible. This leaves visibility and social status as the only substitute for those who feel real wealth and capital remains out of reach.
Botswana's Diamond Crisis: Assessing How Effective the Government's Policies Have Been
This report finds that while the government's actions are necessary, they carry significant risks. Short-term policies have been reactive and sometimes contradictory. Long-term diversification plans face a history of slow implementation and are paradoxically tied to policies that increase the state's exposure to the volatile diamond sector. The recent public health emergency, caused by the fiscal crisis, highlights the social cost of this dependency.
How South Africa's gambling boom is reshaping the economy
South Africa’s gambling boom is now confirmed by Statistics South Africa, whose latest research reveals an explosive rise in online gambling and betting. This new data should fundamentally reframe the conversation: how does this reshaping household budgets, which businesses are supported and how is broader economy affected?
