# Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency

Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency is a Government / Public Body based in Gaborone, Botswana.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Government / Public Body
- **Headquarters:** Gaborone, Botswana
- **Region:** Africa
- **Address:** Plot 54350 Four Thirty Square, Phillip Matante Road, CBD, Gaborone, Botswana
- **Founded:** 2001
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** ceda.co.bw
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceda-botswana

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Botswana Development Corporation was established by the government of Botswana to provide financial and technical support for business development. It offers loans, equity investments, and business advisory services to local businesses. The corporation aims to promote sustainable and viable citizen-owned businesses.

## Sectors

- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Real Estate
- Services
- Technology

## People

- Thabo Thamane — Chief Executive Officer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at CEDA?

Thabo Thamane has held the CEO position since 2011 and oversees all lending and equity investment committees. The agency's board is appointed by Botswana's Minister of Trade and Industry, and major exposure limits require board-level ratification. Day-to-day credit decisions rest with a professional investment team organized by sector desks — manufacturing, agriculture, services, and property — each with delegated authority thresholds below which the CEO can sign off.

### How does CEDA source deal flow?

CEDA sources through a branch network spanning Gaborone, Francistown, Maun, Palapye, and Kang, combined with direct outreach by business development officers who run application workshops in rural districts. The agency also receives referrals from Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Local Enterprise Authority, and commercial banks that decline applications from citizen-owned businesses that then meet CEDA's policy mandate criteria.

### What sectors does CEDA avoid?

CEDA's statutory mandate prohibits funding businesses majority-owned by non-citizens, effectively excluding the large mining and diamond-processing operations that dominate Botswana's GDP. The agency also generally avoids pure trading or retail businesses that do not add manufacturing or processing value chains domestically, and does not fund speculative real estate development outside its targeted affordable-housing and entry-level commercial property programs.

### How is CEDA related to the Botswana Development Corporation?

Both are state-owned entities under Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry, but they operate at different points on the capital-stack and maturity spectrum. BDC targets larger-scale industrial and infrastructure projects with commercial-return mandates, while CEDA focuses on smaller citizen-owned SMEs with concessional pricing. The two co-invest on select deals where a graduating CEDA portfolio company needs scale capital beyond CEDA's maximum exposure limits.

### Does CEDA co-invest alongside external development finance institutions?

CEDA has co-investment relationships with multilateral partners including the UNDP and the African Development Bank, particularly on programming targeting youth and women entrepreneurs. Within Botswana, it forms consortia with the National Development Bank and BDC for large single-obligor exposures. Outside Botswana, it holds a shareholding in Norsad Capital, a regional impact investor active across the SADC region.

### Where does CEDA's capital come from?

CEDA is capitalized by the Government of Botswana through annual parliamentary appropriations, retained earnings on its loan and equity book, and occasional bond issuances or credit lines from commercial banks. It does not take public deposits. Its subsidized-lending model means it operates at below-commercial returns, with the subsidy explicitly budgeted as a government policy expenditure rather than a financial return target.

## Related profiles

- [Citiwest Capital Corporation](https://altss.com/profile/citiwest-capital-corporation)
- [Citizens Bank](https://altss.com/profile/citizens-bank)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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