Ndaba Gaolathe

Speaker at the St. Gallen Symposium

Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe is the Vice President and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Botswana. He also serves as Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington-South, Vice President of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), and President of the Alliance for Progressives, one of the UDC’s member parties. Earlier in his political career, Mr Gaolathe advised former President Festus Mogae on economic and national policy matters and served as a speechwriter. He also chaired the campaign of Gomolemo Motswaledi, founder of the political movement that now forms part of the current government. Before entering politics, Mr Gaolathe built a career in economics, strategy, finance, and governance, working for economic think tanks, governments, and investment banks at regional and international levels. He has experience in portfolio management, macroeconomic and monetary policy, scenario modelling, and institutional restructuring, and has collaborated with a broad array of institutions across multiple sectors. A committed community advocate, Mr Gaolathe founded a volunteer initiative in 1991 to help underprivileged students succeed in Cambridge O-Level examinations—particularly in mathematics—and also supported them in English, general knowledge, survival skills, and entrepreneurship. From his university years until 2014, he personally mentored over 40 students each year through this programme. He has also been active in several civic and faith-based organisations both in and outside Botswana. Mr Gaolathe holds a MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from The George Washington University.