The first step to buying shares is approaching a licensed BSE Broker. Brokers are licensed agents given authorisation to buy and sell shares on your behalf as an investor. Over and above facilitating the transaction (buying or selling) of shares, Brokers also provide financial advice on which stock to buy or sell. All Brokers are required to meet certain standards such as acquiring appropriate qualification (such as Registered Persons Examinations or RPEs), experience and must comply with the BSE Member Rules.

The three (3) licensed BSE Brokers are:

1. Imara Capital Securities: (+267) 3188886/ enquiriesbots@imara.com
2. Motswedi Securities: (+267) 3188627/ motswedi@motswedi.co.bw
3. Stockbrokers Botswana: (+267) 3957900/ info@sbb.bw

Kindly note the BSE operates and regulates the securities market, therefore one cannot purchase or sell shares directly through the BSE.

Before any order can be taken by the Broker, the investor has to open an account with a Broker through which the orders will be taken. A CSD account will also be opened. A CSD account is an account in which the investors shares will be held or secured and from which statements showing the holdings will be sent to the investor. Once a trading account and a CSD account have been opened, you can now place your order and buy shares.

When the Broker receives an order, it is relayed to the BSE to be executed in a system that collects orders from several other Brokers and matches them. The system is known as the Automated Trading System (ATS). It is the Broker who does the actual buying and selling of shares on your behalf using the ATS.

Once the order has been executed, the Broker will confirm the trade to the client by sending a contract note that shows the name of the company in which shares have been bought, the number of shares, the price at which the shares were bought and the charges incurred in the transaction. Three days (3) after the trade has been executed, the shares will be credited in your CSD account and from that date on you will become a shareholder of the company in which you have bought the shares.

When you want to sell the shares, a similar process is followed. Brokers may be contacted by mail, telephone or personal visits. Note that the broker may require you pay first and produce proof of payment before placing an order to buy shares.

To comply with KYC guidelines, you will require the following to open a CSD account as an individual:

1. Certified Copy of ID/Valid Passport
2. Proof of Residence (Utility Bill/Lease Agreement/Affidavit)
3. Proof of Income (Payslip and/or Bank Statement)

To comply with KYC guidelines, you will require the following to open a CSD account as a company/corporate body:

1. Copy of Certificate of Incorporation & Copies of ID/Passport of the Directors
2. Proof of Address (Utility Bill/Lease Agreement)
3. Proof of Income (Bank Statement)
4. Constitution or Resolution/Letter of Consent from the Board of Directors.

Kindly note that there is no set minimum amount that one should put aside for buying shares or any listed security. Share prices differ from one company to the next. You may go the BSE website or check the BSE Facebook page to view the Daily Market Report which shows how the shares of different companies traded that day and the prices in which they closed in. The total amount you can spend in buying shares is solely dependent on the share price of a particular company and the amount of shares you would like to purchase.

For more information on investing in shares, please contact the Market Development Department via e-mail on market@bse.co.bw.

Botswana’s capital market is made up of two (2) types of Bonds, Corporate Bonds & Government Bonds. Corporate Bonds can be purchased through our four 4 licensed brokers, while Government Bonds can be purchased through the Primary Dealers, which are the Big Five (5) Commercial Banks:

Bonds are sold in denominations. Some bonds require a denomination of P1,000.00, while others may require a higher amount of P25,000.00. It just depends on the type of bond and the amount that they require you to invest as an individual.

To find out more about investing in Bonds, kindly contact any of the three (3) licensed Brokers or the BSE on (+267) 3674400.

The BSE traded three (3) types of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). These are NewPlat ETF, NewGold ETF and the NewFunds ETF. These ETFs are bought and sold similarly to shares in that you approach your Broker to facilitate a trade.

The three (3) Licensed BSE brokers are:

To find out more about investing in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), kindly contact any of the three (3) licensed Brokers or the BSE on (+267) 3674400.