Botswana Business etiquette “DOs and Don’ts”

As foreign firms that want to broaden their business in Botswana, and doing business with

partnership in Botswana, understanding of culture is an important thing to consider in order

avoiding cultural faux, we need to know and concern about their culture and also their work

culture, this is due to the different of our culture and our corporate culture with what they did

in Botswana.

There are several issue concerning the Botswana business culture, here are several Dos when

conducting business with Botswana people including:

1. DO dress conservatively, particularly for initial meetings with new business

associates. In Botswana, Men and women tend to dress conservatively in the

workplace, both in summer and in winter. But dress might be different according to

the organization a person is working for; some workplaces are informal and one can

wear jeans to work. So MD needs to adapt with Botswana dress when do business or

doing meeting with Botswana business partner.

2. When MD want to make a contract with partner from Botswana MD needs to do

include deadline dates in contracts, because Botswana people are particularly casual

to deadlines and firm commitments are not often made. As Botswana approaches

they not to concern about the punctuality in doing the work, so need to make a

deadline to the make sure the contracts is appropriate as planned and punctual also.

3. In the meeting situation, we need to maintain eye-contact at all times, especially when

shaking hands with your business counterparts. This is an essential part of developing

trust. In Botswana culture maintain eye contact with other person when shaking hand

and when talking with other is signal which states we are trust to them.

4. Do listen carefully, in Botswana we need to listen carefully if other person or business

counterpart speaking to show our respect to our business counterparts.

Besides, we should know about what we have to do as described above, we also need to

avoid several thing when interacting and doing business with colleagues business of

Botswana, here are some Don’ts of Botswana business culture:

1. Don't show impatience towards decision making. Forcing deadlines or rushing deals

may prove counterproductive since the pace of business in Botswana is reasonably

slow and protracted. we should not insist that the work to be completed as quickly as

possible, because the habit of working in Botswana for the completion of a job or

project is slow, even though we do not fast with the performance of our business

associates shall not show our displeasure to their performance. we should be able to

adjust to the work environment in Botswana

2. The habit of Botswana people, if we engage a conversation with another person, we

should listen carefully when the interlocutors is speaking to us, we are forbidden to

interrupt or argue when they're talking something. For them it shows irreverence, and

even an insult to them. So, when we were meeting with business partner from

Botswana we need to ensure we don’t raise our voice or interrupt whilst your business

counterparts are speaking. Both actions lack the personal approach to a business

relationship and therefore may be interpreted as an insult.

3. Don't be surprised if business colleagues ask what may seem to be personal questions

about your way of life after a relatively brief period of time. Characteristically,

Botswana people tend to be warm and friendly. Botswana people is a friendly people,

for the community Botswana, talk personal issues with office colleagues or business

associates is a normal thing, for them to show it to their proximity to each other, as a

sign of familiarity. So, we should not be surprised when they invited us to talk about

things that are personal. As a collectivist people, normal for them to talk personal

issues with business associates. We just need to associate with their culture.

4. Do not talk about the political, social situation, and specially about racial. talk about

problems above are still taboo in Botswana, unless we are asked for it and we can put

forward well-thought comments

5. Business women should not feel insulted or intimidated too soon by remarks

conservative white or black South-Africans; they are not really used to dealing with

women in business

6. The other thing that need to avoid in Botswana is do not show the soles of your foot

and avoid the use of your left hand, both are regarded to many Botswana as unclean.

For Botswana people, left hand is unclean, so that’s way they never use left hand

when handshake with other.