EVs that are ready to be supplied to the market and showcased at Gaborone EV plant in Gaborone on June 2026. Photo Supplied: Motospot Botswana wants to become one of Africa’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hubs by 2030. As government invests in the sector, local businesses, engineers and entrepreneurs are already positioning themselves to supply the emerging value chain, bringing new hope to Selebi-Phikwe and the country’s industrial future.
SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Inside a factory in Selebi-Phikwe, engineer Ketshephaone Jacob is preparing for a market that barely existed in Botswana a few years ago. His company manufactures LED lighting, but he believes the country’s ambitious plans to build an electric vehicle industry could soon create demand for locally made components and open new opportunities for manufacturers like his. As Botswana invests more than US$1 billion to become an African electric mobility hub, entrepreneurs, engineers and manufacturers are betting the transition will revive industries, create jobs and breathe new life into towns long searching for a new economic future.
Long dependent on diamonds, which generate about 80% of its export earnings, Botswana is using electric vehicles (EVs) to diversify its economy. By 2030, it aims to produce 60% of its targeted manufacturing capacity locally, building not only vehicles but an entire industrial ecosystem spanning battery minerals, component manufacturing, engineering, logistics and specialist suppliers. At the heart of that ambition is Selebi-Phikwe, the former copper and nickel mining town earmarked as the country’s EV manufacturing hub.
As large-scale production plans gather momentum, companies such as The Bulb World Botswana are positioning themselves to supply the emerging industry, hoping Botswana’s electric mobility drive will spark a new era of industrial growth. Local manufacturers preparing for the opportunity The Chairperson of the National Association of the Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (NASMMEs) Sello Motseta explained that SMMEs both in the formal and informal trade are looking forward to reap benefits of the EVs industrial cluster. “The SMMEs have an opportunity to grow from the EV industry… Growth is imminent for our sector,” said Motseta.
The Bulb World Botswana, the country’s only manufacturer of LED lighting, was founded by young entrepreneur and e…
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