Kalyanaraman Vijay

Vijay is the Managing Partner of Grant Thornton in Botswana, effective July 2018. He came to Botswana and joined Grant Thornton in 1996. He is a naturalised citizen of Botswana.

He is a member of the Policy Board of Grant Thornton in Botswana.

Experience

Vijay joined Grant Thornton in Botswana in 1996. He worked as a Branch Manager in Selebi-Phikwe and later took charge of the northern operations of the firm. Vijay moved to Gaborone in 2002 to take charge of the Advisory services team and has been a Partner since 2003. He became Managing Partner of the firm in 2018.

Sector experience

Vijay is responsible for building the Advisory services practice of Grant Thornton in Botswana. His experience includes setup and management of the Francistown branch operations of the firm. He has been instrumental in building the diamond clientele services particularly to the DTC sight holders, apart from the other stakeholders. 

He has been the lead advisor of several corporate transactions in Botswana and has assisted a lot of businesses with recovery, restructuring and turnaround strategy.

Vijay has been part of several co-sourcing services to major corporates and listed entities, covering roles including Head of Internal Audit, Risk Manager and Expert Advisor in setting up the risk management function. He has led several risk workshops for organisations in Botswana.

Vijay has extensive experience in serving clients from the Financial Services and Mining sectors.

Professional qualifications and memberships

Vijay is a Fellow Certified Professional Accountant (FCPA) member of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), was the first President of BICA, is past member of the BICA Executive Council, and past chairperson of BICA Tax Committee. He is also registered as a ‘Certified Auditor of Public Interest Entity’ with Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA).

Vijay is a member of HLCC Finance, representing professional services at Business Botswana. He has in the past served as chairperson of the Membership and Examinations committee, Public Relations committee and Education and Training committees of BICA. He has been a Board and Audit committee member of Botswana Accountancy College.  

Vijay is a member of the Grant Thornton regional advisory and IT committee. He has attended the International Partners Development Programme organised by Grant Thornton International and regularly attends Grant Thornton Advisory programmes. He has attended several training programs on specialist services, covering business risk services, valuation and transaction / lead advisory services. In July 2023, Vijay completed the Senior Leadership Programme with Harvard Business School. 

Community involvement

Vijay has been member of Grant Thornton Private Business Growth Awards committee since 2015 and chaired it since 2016. Presented in association with Business Botswana and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), this initiative is Grant Thornton’s biggest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity that encourages and honours the development of growing private businesses in the country, and led to a partnership with USAID Trade Hub to present the “Botswana Exporter of the Year” awards.

Vijay participates in Grant Thornton’s CSR initiatives such as recently supporting Government’s Digital Transformation Strategy within the education sector by sponsoring a state-of-the art imported tech panel – a first for public schools in Botswana. Over the years, Grant Thornton has supported various local communities paying special attention to the upliftment of education in Botswana. 

Presentations and publications

Vijay has been a speaker and part of several expert panels / specialist presentations in Botswana, including Botswana Stock Exchange conference, Institute of Internal auditors Botswana, Global Expo (organised by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to name a few and Stanbic Bank Collaboration.

Vijay has been a member of Grant Thornton’s corporate Toastmasters club since 2014, which has facilitated development of communication and leadership skills. 

Languages spoken

English, Tamil.