Swedish export credit agency EKN has upgraded Botswana’s risk category, making it the ECA’s lowest payment risk country in Africa.

EKN has upgraded the country by one level to risk category 2 for both short and long-term credit periods. The ECA’s risk categories run between 0 and 7, indicating the lower the figure, the better the countries’ creditworthiness.

According to EKN, the upgrade is the result of Botswana’s quick recovery after the downturn in its economy during the financial crisis of 2009, which led to EKN downgrading Botswana in the same year.

Botswana’s economy is now growing again in a positive direction, EKN says in a statement, and has taken measures to reduce its budget deficit and borrowing requirements. Meanwhile, the country’s exports – which are largely from the diamond industry − have also recovered.

So far, EKN has guaranteed Skr310mn (US$46mn) in export transactions to Botswana.