High yield savings account in Botswana

Good morning 😃🌞☀️let’s get into it.

ADVERTISEMENT:

Power up your fleet with reliable and durable FAW Trucks! Built for performance, priced for value. Drive your business forward with FAW — tough, tested, trusted.

Making this article I was inspired by a post by money managers, I saw on Facebook last night of putting emergency funds into a high yield savings account.

So I thought what if there’s more? I may perhaps find more. But currently in the country there’s no commercial bank with a 6% yield. But there are other ways that you can use listed on that post plus one more:

Below are the verified sources for the high-yield savings options you can check out:

1.SACCOs (Savings & Credit Co-operatives)

• Motswedi SACCO and Thuto SACCO are member-owned cooperatives in Botswana. Reports show interest rates as high as 12% annually  .

• SACCOs like these typically prioritize member dividends and share strong community trust  .

2.Unit Trusts / Money Market Funds

• Botswana Insurance Fund Management’s BIFM Pula Money Market Fund is a popular vehicle for low-risk, liquid savings  .

• A review by SCI Wealth indicates that money-market funds in Botswana deliver net returns of around 5.5%, making them more attractive than traditional bank deposits  .

• Meanwhile, the Allan Gray Money Market Fund (South African-based but available regionally) reports annualized returns of 6–9%, with the last 1-year return at about 9% .

• Vunani Botswana Money Market Fund reports similar performance, reinforcing consistent returns in the 6–9% range  .

3.Government Bonds

• The long-term government bond rate (a proxy for savings via bonds) was reported at 9.61% p.a. in January 2025  .

• Data from the Botswana Stock Exchange shows yields on various bonds, including an 8.6% bond maturing in 2035, and a 6% bond maturing in 2040, with current yields exceeding 10% .

• Historical performance further affirms 8–10% yields on Botswana government bonds .

  Conclusion

• SACCOs are an accessible, high-return alternative (up to ~12%).

• Unit trusts such as money market funds yield 5.5%, with potential upside to 9%.

• Government bonds offer 8–10%, albeit with longer lock-in periods.

Sources & References

1. Botswana Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs)
   

   • Motswedi SACCO: https://www.motswedisacco.co.bw

   • Thuto SACCO: Coverage of interest rates and services in Botswana SACCOs community publications and official sites.

   • Cooperative interest rates reported up to 10–12% annually for savings products among SACCO members (source: SACCO Botswana Reports, 2024).

2. Unit Trusts / Money Market Funds
   

   • BIFM Pula Money Market Fund – Botswana Insurance Fund Management (BIFM):
     https://www.bifm.co.bw

   • SCI Wealth - Botswana Unit Trusts Overview (2024): Reports on Botswana-based fund performance and advantages over bank savings.
     https://sciwealth.co.bw

   • Allan Gray Money Market Fund (Regional) – Annualized returns of 6–9%:
     https://www.allangray.co.za

   • Vunani Fund Managers Botswana – Fund fact sheets indicate net yields in the 5.5–8% range:
     https://www.vunanibotswana.com

3. Botswana Government Bonds
   

   • Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) Bond Listings (2025):
     https://www.bse.co.bw
     

     • Bonds like BW013 (8.6% maturing 2035) and BW015 (6.0% maturing 2040) are trading at yields above 9%.

   • Macrotrends.net – Botswana Long-Term Interest Rate (Government Bonds):
     https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/BWA/botswana/interest-rate
     

     • January 2025 rate reported at 9.61%.

4. Additional Market Context
   

   • Bank of Botswana – Official rates for traditional savings and fixed deposits:
     https://www.bankofbotswana.bw