In the early 2000s, the Government took a decision to effectively privatise a large portion of the foreign exchange reserves through the establishment of a defined contribution pension fund scheme for the public service. Despite its openness, the impact of the global financial crisis on the Botswana economy was relatively mild.
The main negative shock was to the mining sector, but the transmission to the rest of the economy was muted, helped by government drawing on its financial savings to maintain public spending. For the financial sector, the predominantly "plain vanilla" characteristics and limited international linkages provided a shield against the 7  worst effects, buttressed further by effective regulation and prudential supervision.