Botswana’s Consumers Show Resilience Amid Rising Economic Pressures

Only one third of Batswana have seen increased incomes in the last three months, while nearly one half say their finances are worse than planned
Most consumers believe that access to credit is important, but only four in ten believe that they have sufficient access
More than half of consumers believe that including alternative data into their credit scores would expand access to credit

Information and insights company TransUnion Botswana has published its Q2 2025 Consumer Pulse Study* which showed that only one third (33%) of Batswana respondents reported a growth in their income in the last three months, while 49% said their finances were worse than planned. One quarter (25%) were affected by job losses – nine percentage points more than said the same thing one year ago.

Despite this, 77% remained optimistic about their future finances, with Gen Z consumers (aged 18-28) being the most hopeful group with 83% feeling optimistic about their future. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) of this cohort expected their incomes to increase in the next year – 10 percentage points more than those who said the same a year ago.

Consumers’ most significant financial concerns are inflation, job security and housing prices. Nearly eight in 10 (78%) put inflation as one of their top three financial concerns followed by job losses and housing prices (rent or mortgage) each at 55%.

Likely in response to these concerns, 53% of consumers indicated they cut back on discretionary spending (dining out, travel, entertainment) in the past three months, 34% cancelled subscriptions or memberships and 30% cancelled or reduced digital services (e.g., wireless, cable TV, internet).

Looking forward to the next three months, 57% of surveyed consumers expected to reduce their discretionary spending – significantly more than the proportion of respondents who expected discretionary spending to remain the same (17%) or increase (22%). At the same time, 42% anticipated reducing spending on large purchases.

“These trends suggest that consumers in Botswana are scaling back their short-term spending to prioritise long-term financial goals and essential expenses,” said Kabelo Ramaselwana, CEO of TransUnion Botswana. “Trimming non-essential costs is a smart strategy to build and maintain financial stability and resilience.”

Taking intentional steps towards financial sustainability will help the 34% of Batswana who are expecting to miss at least one bill or loan payment in the next quarter. Of those facing this challenge, 42% plan to explore additional job opportunities or take on gig work to boost their available funds, 38% plan to make partial payments, and 25% intend to use their savings to address the shortfall.

Gen Z and Millennials Lead the Charge in Credit Applications Amid Access Concerns

During the quarter surveyed, 95% of respondents considered access to credit important, yet only 41% felt they had sufficient access. This shows a gap between the importance of credit access and consumer confidence, pointing to a need for more inclusive lending. Looking ahead, 39% of respondents planned to apply for new or refinanced credit within the next year. Among these, 42% intended to apply for a new personal loan (six percentage points higher than Q2 2024), while 30% planned to seek a new home loan. Additionally, 17% expressed interest in applying for a new car loan or lease, or student loan.

Among those intending to apply for new credit or to refinance existing credit, most were Gen Z consumers (43%) followed by 37% of Millennials (aged 29-44) and 35% of Gen X (aged 45-60).

“Gen Z and Millennial consumers are entering the workplace and embracing the lifestyle elements that come with establishing a career and a family, while also taking a strategic approach to credit - carefully managing and monitoring their credit profile to enable confident transactions with financial institutions to empower themselves to achieve great things,” says Ramaselwana.

Financial Literacy Gaps Persist, Opportunities for Alternative Data Identified

In Q2 2025, many surveyed consumers in Botswana recognised the importance of credit monitoring: 37% of respondents considered it extremely important and 38% rated it as very important. Despite this awareness, only 48% of respondents reported checking their credit at least monthly followed by 13% who did so quarterly. Alarmingly, 27% said they don’t monitor their credit, though this is a five-percentage-point improvement from the previous year. This gap highlights the need for improved financial literacy and easier access to credit tools. Among those who did monitor their credit, 45% focused on report accuracy, 38% aimed to prevent fraud and 37% wanted to improve their credit scores.

Over half of respondents (51%) believed their credit profiles would improve if businesses used information not on the standard credit report, such as rental payments, gym membership payments and other alternative data. Medium-income consumers (N$300,001 to N$800,000 per annum) were the most optimistic as 55% believed their credit profiles would improve if alternative data were considered beyond traditional credit reports.

^*^T^{ransUnion’s Consumer Pulse Survey of 251 adults was conducted 5–25 May 2025 by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider Dynata. Adults 18 years and older residing in Botswana were surveyed using an online research panel method across a combination of desktop, mobile and tablet devices.}