Botswana: a Glance into the Shared Hosting Market with Thomas Moroba, CEO, BotsWebHost

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. A country roughly the size of France, with a population of 2 million, and an internet penetration rate of 50%, Botswana is still at the beginning of the digitization process.

During his recent visit to Botswana, the Site.pro team met with Thomas Moroba, the CEO and Founder of BotsWebHost.com for a chat. Apart from being one of the leading hosting providers in the country, BotsWebHost is the first customer Site.pro had in the country, and we were curious to see how the Internet market of the country is developing.

Botswana and Hosting Lifehacks

Hosting in Botswana

BotsWebHost.com is a web hosting, domain name registration, email hosting, and design company located in Botswana. In the words of the CEO and founder of the company Thomas Moroba, their aim is to develop the economy of the country by helping businesses and individuals go online. One step towards this the company is taking is providing local domain registrars for free while charging for foreign registrars.

Currently, there are around 10,000 .co.bw domains registered in the country, which is the official TLD of Botswana. But the number of registered domains is much bigger: many brands prefer going with domains like .com, .org, or .net.

The company currently hosts in the USA but also looks to host locally. A local data center is coming up, and Thomas hopes they’ll start hosting in Botswana soon.

Botswana Market Specificities

As with any other country and culture, the business world of Botswana comes with its specificities. Let’s start with support.

There are many languages in the country, but the two official ones are Tswana and English. These are also the two languages the company offers support in. The reason big brands are not a threat to local hosting providers is also the language: people want to have local support available in both languages, and that’s why they choose local hosters.

The country has around 50% Internet penetration rate, and the reason for it is that cable internet is expensive: salaries start at €100/month, while the cable connection costs €40/month. Most of the Internet connection available in the country is mobile.

Pricing and Payments

When it comes to pricing, customers in Botswana prefer the best combination of price and quality and are willing to cash out a bit more to ensure that they are getting a quality service. The price of the .bw domain is around $11, and the price for the hosting is $100/year.

To pay for the service, the most commonly used method is bank transfers. Apart from that, people use ETF, as well as mobile wallets. Paypal too is finding a way through local companies. 'In Botswana, it’s also a trust issue: people don’t like using credit cards directly, so our advice is to link them through PayPal,' says Thomas.

Website Builders and Website Import

Website builders and the website import feature are currently mostly used by designers and registrars. These companies are also taking on the responsibility of educating the audience on website builders and web presence in general. So, although website builders are not popular now, it’s coming through, in the words of Thomas.

Because a lot of people in the country only have access to the Internet through mobile, they use website builders only on mobile too, that’s why having a responsive website builder is important.

BotsWebHost.com also plans to be more educational. The company wants to educate customers not only on how to use their tools, but about the importance of web presence in general, alongside making it more accessible.

Tips and Lifehacks

During its time in the market, BotsWebHost.com has learned a few tricks that work in the hosting market. The most important ones:

1. Continuously run creative ads on Facebook and other platforms because your competitors will be doing it.
2. Keep it simple, and people will find you more effective.
3. Be totally different from others in the services, support, features, or pricing model you offer.

Wrapping Up

The digital ecosystem of Botswana is still in its infancy and has a long way to go, but the start was already given. There are many dedicated companies and individuals driving the digitization of the country, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Botswana next.