BOTSWANA will probably sign a $76 million, government-backed credit line for Zimbabwe by the end of the year, the president of Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Joseph Kanyekanye has said.

"We have had a successful meeting with the minister of trade and industry and she has assured us that the funds are now available," Kanyekanye told reporters in Botswana's capital, Gaborone on Friday.

"What we have to do now is to a sign bilateral protection agreement on investment."

The money will help private industry in Zimbabwe profit from a rebound in growth that is expected to see gross domestic product expand 8 percent this year, compared with the World Bank forecast of 5.9 percent, Kanyekanye said.

The credit line will be guaranteed by Botswana's government.

The acting president of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower, Thuli Johnson, confirmed that the credit line would be completed soon.

"Besides the bilateral protection agreement on investment, our parliament is going to approve the guarantee in the current sitting," Johnson told reporters.