Facilitating Formalisation of Women-Led Businesses in Botswana

In Botswana, around 25.8% of the country’s 510,953 wage-earners are employed in the informal sector (as of 2016). On top of this, over 50% of informal sector businesses are women-owned, and 67% are at least partially women-owned. The COVID-19 pandemic had an overall negative impact on business activity, especially on informal enterprises. While a large informal sector impacts tax revenue for the public purse, the workers tend not to have the same protection and benefits as those in the formal sector (e.g. sick leave, minimum pay, advance notice of dismissal, minimum standard work conditions).

Therefore, one of the priorities of the Government of Botswana is to formalise more employment and to create decent work conditions, in particular, for women and youth. Reporting to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) provides different financial products, and non-financial support to promote successful citizen enterprises. It now seeks to develop a more structured approach to supporting women in the informal sector towards decent work, greater productivity and readiness for formalisation.