Apply In-Person

1. To obtain a Manufacturing or Industrial License, an applicant should visit the Department of Industrial Affairs, which is under Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry office or the District/Town/City Council Commercial Office in your locality to apply. (Contact details are listed below).
2. Collect and complete the forms Application form for industrial license/ initial application of an industrial license, Forms are available for free at the Enquiries Desk at the Industrial Affairs Department office or relevant municipality/council office or directly download it via this link;Link
3. For enterprises with a turnover of more than P5 million, the duly completed forms along with the relevant attachments (mentioned below under the ‘Required Documents’ section) are submitted to the Department of Industrial Affairs.
4. While For enterprises with a turnover of less that P5 million, the completed application files are submitted to the District/Town/City Council Commercial Office in your locality.
5. The officer will then verify, if all the necessary information and documents have been provided and that the applications comply with the selection criteria, if everything is in order, the application file will be registered and recorded, after payment of the application fee, and you will be issued with an acknowledgment letter containing details of the application.
6. The application file will then be forwarded to the Industrial Licencing Authority (ILA) Board (at Headquarters) or the Licensing Committee (at District/Town/City Council) for processing and consideration, which is within 5 working days.
7. The applicant will be notified of the outcome of the application via mail, SMS, or phone call.
8. If the license has been approved, the applicant can collect the license from the office they applied at upon payment of applicable license fees and against the acknowledgment letter and identity document

• Shareholding documents
• Additional Information sheet (collected with the application form)
• An Environmental Impact Assessment Report {EIA)/Authorization letter from the Department of Environmental Affairs
• Provide clearance/recommendation/authorization letter from;
  • Environmental & Occupational Health Division (Ministry of Health & Wellness) for Chemicals
  • Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for animal and plant related products feeds
  • Nutrition and Food Control (Ministry of Health and Wellness) for food and beverages
• Business background or executive summary
• Completed application Form AIL 1, in duplicate for each company. Application forms can be obtained from the relevant municipality/council
• Proof that the company is registered in Botswana – Copy of the certificate of incorporation,
• Detailed description of the companies production process to indicate how each product will be produced, including answers to environmental effects questions listed on additional information sheets
• Satisfactory Environmental Health Inspection and Food Control clearance reports from the relevant municipality/council
• Zoning report/ authorization letter from the Physical Planning Officer
• Lease agreement between the lessor and the lessee/letter from the landlord showing their intention to lease out the plot
• Certified true copies of valid work and residence permits (foreign investors/shareholders)
• Certified copies of Omang (citizens) and passports (foreigners) for all shareholders
• Commitment letter from a Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control approved waste collector and for sales of offcuts/by-products, a commitment letter from the buyer
• Payment of P50.00 administrative fee
• Once approved payment of P200.00 license fee upon collection

Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry
Private Bag 004
Gaborone
Botswana
Address: Plot 54380, Central Business District
Tel. (+267) 3601200
Fax. (+267) 3971539
Email. mitipru@gov.bw

Public Relations office
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry
Address: Plot 54380 Central Business District (CBD)
Private Bag 004
Gaborone
Tel. (+267) 3601200

Department of Industrial Affairs
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry
Public Relations office
Address: Plot 54380, Central Business District, Gaborone
Private Bag 0014
Gaborone
Tel: (+267) 3957406/3995200
Fax: (+267) 39729109
Ministry of trade and Industry contact details link: Link

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

• District/ Sub-District Councils /Town/City Council Commercial Office contact list link Link
  
• Ministry of local government and Rural Development contact details link:Link
  

Opening hours: 07:30 to 12:45 and 13:45 to 16:30, Monday to Friday, except public holidays

• Any enterprise registered in Botswana and individuals who are above the age of 18 years.
• However, the following activities are reserved for citizens of Botswana or for companies that are wholly owned by citizens of Botswana if on a small scale or as a joint venture on medium/large scale;

Manufacturing of school uniforms/ Manufacturing of school furniture / Manufacturing of burglar bars/Manufacturing of protective clothing/ Milling of sorghum/ Manufacturing of cement bricks and baked earth (mud) bricks/ Baking of bread and confectionery/ Manufacturing of peanut butter / Bottling of water / Production of traditional sour milk / Packaging / Manufacturing of floor polish / Manufacturing of traditional leather products/ Manufacturing of traditional crafts / Signage, including electronic signage / Fencing materials excluding gum poles / Manufacturing of candles / Ice making / Meat processing

• Administration fee 50.00 (BWP)
• New Licence fee 200.00 (BWP)

• The license is valid for one year and renewable thereafter

• Link (application form)
  
• Link (Application form for pay of the annual fee)
  

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

• The time around for processing the application is five (5) working days

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Important Note;
Manufacturing licences are governed by the Industrial Development Act of 2006 and the Industrial Development Regulations of 2008. According to the Act, all manufacturing enterprises are required to have an industrial/manufacturing licence, issued by the Industrial Licensing Authority (ILA) and the Regional Licensing Committee. These licences are valid for an indefinite period subject to compliance with the conditions upon being issued.

PARTICULARS OF APPLICANT(S)

• Name of Applicant/Company
• Trading Name (if other than company name)
• Company Registration certificate details
• Particulars of Shareholders /owners (Names /Nationality/No. of shares/ Designation)
• Particulars of company's secretary/attorney (if any)
• Location of manufacturing establishment
• Contact details
• Products to be manufactured: (please give details)
• Projected employment
• Training plans
• Raw materials to be used
• Investment details
• Declaration by the applicant

All manufacturing enterprises are required to have an Industrial License before commencement of operations. The licence is renewed annually on or before the date of first licence issue. These licences are issued by the Industrial Licensing Authority (ILA) and the Regional Licensing Committees.

Enter other informations which might help.

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

• Government procedure link:Link
  
• Botswana Investment and Trade Center procedure link: Link
  

More information which might help people.