Guiding a fragile undertaking

"At first there was scepticism in some quarters about whether the International Financial Services Centre would be viable," says Alan Boshwaen. "Those voices are now significantly in the minority and we have almost drowned them."

Boshwaen is the first Motswana to be appointed to guide the fortunes of the IFSC as its chief executive officer. The IFSC is an initiative to develop Botswana into a world-class financial services hub.

"We are trying to upgrade the level of knowledge because some people used to see the IFSC as something complex and only reserved for highly educated people," he says.

The IFSC’s target is to create between 15 000 and 20 000 jobs within NDP9. "It is a tall order considering that as of now, we have only created less than 500 jobs. Obviously this requires a change in the way we do things," he adds.

He believes that realisation of this goal would translate into the IFSC becoming one of the pillars of the economy, thus living up to the vision of its founders: to improve Botswana’s competitiveness in global markets, contribute to sustainable economic diversification and increase employment opportunities for Batswana.

"This is not a pipe dream," Boshwaen says, and adds that Batswana have the strength to achieve that.

He points out that Botswana has done a lot in developing the right business environment - a pre-requisite for attracting jobs in cross border and financial services. Further putting Botswana in good standing is the country’s famed strong democratic credentials, a healthy macroeconomic climate, the right legal framework and favourable tax regimes.

There are a few hitches to get off the way, though. He wants to see further development of the telecommunications infrastructure, which is critical for transfer of capital. Boshwaen suggests liberalisation of the industry. He says this should not be difficult to achieve because there is political commitment and support from other stakeholders such as Botswana Telecommunications Authority and the ministry of communications, science and technology.

He says Botswana has to develop a modern, cheap and reliable telecommunications industry with the capacity to allow for video conferencing and Internet.

Once these are developed, he reasons that Botswana would be on an equal footing with the rest of the world.

"We need to invest very quickly to create that environment," he says, and further adds that Batswana need to see the IFSC as a source of jobs, as well as business opportunities. He says that for this to become a reality, there is need for targeted training to improve the customer services culture.

Boshwaen sees his involvement with the IFSC - which started in 2002 with him as its designate head under the Irish Consultants - as no accident.

He says his 15 years in the banking industry taught him that globalisation would not spare this country and through the IFSC, he says, he can make a difference.

"Before I left the banking industry, I was keenly aware that globalisation was likely to take away local jobs and already I’m beginning to see it happening in the financial services," he states.

He says there is a need for a national strategy to ensure that Botswana can also benefit from globalisation rather than lose out. He cites the example of Standard Chartered Bank, which operates its local customers’ accounts from Kenya.

"That means our jobs will shrink," he says. "The danger to our country is that we will increasingly become consumers."

He says the downside to globalisation is that Botswana could easily be left with shop front organisations, while all the processing is done outside the country.

"Through the IFSC we want some of those jobs back in Botswana," he says.

Boshwaen is confident that this can be achieved. One reason for his optimism is that the IFSC has put together a dedicated team.

"We have made impact on the market and have also been able to make our stakeholders aware of the challenges and the available opportunities," he says. "We need to continue along that route if we are to achieve our vision."

Boshwaen says Afro pessimism in some quarters, has disadvantaged them and he emphasises that this needs to be fought.

He points out that Botswana’s geographic location works against it and reasons that were it in some other part of the world, such as the Caribbean or Europe, the IFSC would have progressed faster.

"Our response has been to position ourselves in Africa so that we can serve the Pan-African market base. But we will not restrict ourselves to Africa alone. We also have to look at overseas markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom," he says.

Similarly, he says Botswana has demonstrated that it is not part of what is perceived as a typical basket of chaotic countries.

And although acknowledging that the current flow of capital and money into Africa is depressed, his belief is that with time, it will improve and Botswana can take advantage of that.

"We have continued to make targeted marketing, especially by differentiating ourselves," he says.

Last year, the IFSC registered seven new companies in addition to the 21 that had been in existence. He has found that at times, investment to Botswana is turned away by the slow bureaucratic processes.

"We need to step forward to ensure that we don’t lose out to our competitors," he says.

He points out that some of the companies registered with the IFSC might appear small, but they provide essential services. He mentions Andisa Capital, a company owned by Standard Bank of South Africa, which specialises in risk and treasury solutions for its regional customers.

The other company, AON, a United States-owned company serves the mining sector in Africa with mining-related insurance.

"So we are making progress and that’s how off-shore markets develop," he says.

He says he has not been overawed by his job as the first Motswana CEO of this rather complex system.

Boshwaen leads a team of 10 professional staff members and says it was deliberate that it be kept small because "we didn’t want too much of an administrative trail".

"This has allowed us to concentrate on our real mandate of developing the IFSC," he says.

One of the IFSC’s strategies has been the development of strategic business-to-business relationships both locally and internationally.

"This has allowed us to project and amplify our voices beyond what we could have otherwise been able to do."

The IFSC has relationships with the City of London and New York, through which it has built linkages.

It has done the same with the Governor of the Bank of Botswana and the Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

Boshwaen, 40, has a degree in Industrial Relations and Business Administration from Kent University in the UK and an MBA from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is married to Dudu, a lawyer who works for the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPAD). The couple has two children, aged four years, and four months.

source - Mmegi Newspapers