Botswana Post is looking beyond traditional mail delivery to sustain its nationwide network, using commercial property, financial services and digital platforms to generate new economic opportunities.
The strategy was highlighted this weeek with the opening of Sekoma Poso Mall, a P5.3 million development along the Trans-Kalahari Highway in Mabutsane District. The project, which coincided with World Post Day, illustrates the state-owned operator’s effort to make its infrastructure commercially productive while extending essential services to rural communities.
The development was funded through a partnership between Botswana Post, which contributed P2.74 million, and the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), which committed P2.6 million through its Universal Access and Service Fund.
The investment addresses a structural challenge at Botswana Post, maintaining postal services across a geographically dispersed country, including areas where operations may not be commercially viable.
“The sustainability of this network therefore requires us to look beyond traditional postal revenue and make our infrastructure more productive,” said Botswana Post board chairperson Katlego Arnone.
The facility is expected to serve about 3,220 people across Sekoma, Khonkhwa and Keng. Some 436 beneficiaries of the Ikageng Programme will be able to collect their monthly allowances closer to home, while 350 old-age pension beneficiaries are expected to receive payments through the Sekoma post office.
Arnone said the company’s approach was to diversify income while creating opportunities for businesses and communities. “For us, this means making our network more productive, diversifying our revenue base, embracing digitalisation and creating opportunities for businesses and communities to participate in economic activity,” she said.
Sekoma Poso Mall is designed to support local small and medium-sized enterprises by providing trading space, alongside a tailored agribusiness service offering aimed at the farming potential of the surrounding area.
The facility is expected to serve about 3,220 people across Sekoma, Khonkhwa and Keng. Some 436 beneficiaries of the Ikageng Programme will be able to collect their monthly allowances closer to home, while 350 old-age pension beneficiaries are expected to receive payments through the Sekoma post office.
The company is also exploring additional commercial activity, having acquired land for a proposed filling station to be developed through a public-private partnership. The strategy extends beyond physical property. Platforms including Poso Online, Posa’it and PosoMoney, alongside virtual teller machines, are intended to broaden access to digital and financial services. BotswanaPost also supports medicine deliveries to district health management teams and remote areas through its partnership with the government’s Central Medical Stores.
Communications and Innovation Minister David Tshere said postal infrastructure could help rural businesses reach wider markets. “A young entrepreneur in Sekoma can use the postal and courier network to connect a locally produced product to a customer in Gaborone, Francistown or even beyond our borders,” he said.
