The Serala OTC Board is where companies that are not ready to list on either the Main Board or the Venture Capital Market Board register (not list) their equity or equity related securities with the BSE. The Serala OTC Board was primarily designed to house companies while they prepare for listing, and get acquainted to the regulatory environment. It also provides registered companies with a platform to trade securities thus discovering their true open market value.
Companies which register equity and equity related securities on the Serala OTC Board
shall only be allowed to remain on the board for a maximum of five (5) years. Thereafter, the BSE will review the continued trading of the securities on this board and may require that the registered company should apply for listing at the end of the five (5) year period.

For a company to register on the Serala OTC Board it must fulfil the following requirements:

• Be a Public Interest Entity (PIE) as per the Financial Reporting Act (and BAOA Rules – Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority). PIEs are entities that are listed on the BSE, regulated by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) such as banks and deposit taking institutions, any non-bank financial institution supervised by the Non-Bank Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) or satisfy at least
  two (2) of the following thresholds:
  • Annual revenue of P300 million;
  • 200 Employees;
  • P200 Million in total assets; or
  • P100 Million in total liabilities.
• Fully dematerialize its securities; and
• Sign a registration agreement with the BSE.