Reviewing the revised CEDA guidelines

Grand reveal: The revised guidelines were launched recently PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Grand reveal: The revised guidelines were launched recently PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

On July 16, 2020, President Mokgweetsi Masisi launched the revised Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) Lending Guidelines and Requirements.

The guidelines were a revision of guidelines that were launched and approved in 2008. Since then, the Botswana economy has changed drastically necessitating a revision of the guidelines to ensure they are still relevant to the market and clients.

 The guidelines have taken an even bigger sense of importance in the past year. As they were being developed, we have since seen the calls for Economic Transformation taking centre stage in national discourse. The new guidelines therefore, will be very central and relevant for pushing national priorities like Citizen Economic Empowerment, import substitution and most recently the need to reduce the country’s dependence on its neighbours for trade. Contrary to popular belief COVID-19 was not the reason the guidelines were reviewed, but it has thrust them squarely in the limelight and made them more important going forward with the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan. So, what are the main changes to the guidelines?

Editor's Comment
Botswana at a critical juncture

While the political shift brings hope for change, it also places immense pressure on the new administration to deliver on its election promises in the face of serious economic challenges.On another level, newly appointed Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe’s grim assessment of the country’s finances adds urgency to the moment. The budget deficit, expected to be P8.7 billion, is now anticipated to be even higher due to underperforming diamond...

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