Botswana Vice President Mr. Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe, who is also the country’s Finance Minister, and Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) CEO Zhongjing Wang held a bilateral meeting in Johannesburg on 12 March while both were visiting South Africa. They discussed pathways for strengthening collaboration to promote high-quality connectivity infrastructure investment as a driver of sustainable economic transformation.
Vice President Gaolathe described Botswana’s need to raise the institutional capacity of its development finance institutions, scale up small and medium-size enterprise financing, more effectively identify bankable projects, and address project preparation gaps. These are priority areas for closer cooperation with MCDF, he explained.
CEO Wang, accompanied by MCDF’s Ms. Monde Nyambe and Mr. Erick Mariga, thanked Vice President Gaolathe for Botswana becoming an Observer country of the MCDF Coordination Committee last year, after meeting alongside the African Development Bank Annual Meeting in May 2025 in Côte d'Ivoire. CEO Wang affirmed MCDF’s commitment to enhancing support for connectivity infrastructure that can help link landlocked Botswana with regional and global partners to accelerate sustainable development for all.
“Greater connectivity is key to leveraging Botswana’s strategic location at the heart of Southern Africa as a conduit for trade and growth that can open up inclusive economic opportunities,” said CEO Wang. “MCDF’s partnership approach is dedicated to fostering investment in viable and sustainable connectivity infrastructure projects by promoting the application of International Financial Institution standards and good practices.”
Vice President Gaolathe and CEO Wang discussed ways MCDF could support power transmission and rail connectivity in Southern Africa through grant funding, with a specific focus on project preparation and feasibility studies.
CEO Wang went on to describe efforts in MCDF to boost partner countries’ access to innovative financing instruments, including direct support, bridge financing, and capacity building for domestic finance institutions. He also outlined how MCDF could potentially expand its connectivity support to include sectors such as climate resilience, health, education, and connectivity infrastructure.
CEO Wang invited Botswana to present the Botswana Economic Transformation Program during a future MCDF Coordination Committee meeting, to help guide its International Financial Institution members’ broader information-sharing activities and collaboration. He additionally thanked Vice President Gaolathe for Botswana’s acceptance of his invitation to participate in the first MCDF Replenishment Meeting in Beijing on 30 March to discuss MCDF’s strategic direction during its next phase, starting from January 2027.
Contact
David Hendrickson
Senior Communications Officer
Mobile: +86 185 0114 6758
david.hendrickson@themcdf.org
