09 Jul 2014

The Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) will attend the second Brazil-Africa forum next month as part of the endeavour to grow and promote the local private sector.

The forum, scheduled for end of August in Fortaleza, seeks to improve trade investment relations and help establish networking relationship between Brazil and African countries.

It would also be intended to provide a platform for actions involving major segments of Brazil and Africa in the sector of infrastructure, as well as foster development of partnerships between private and public sectors. 

The forum also seeks to strengthen confidence of African and Brazilian investors in the infrastructure sector and to explore new business opportunities.

The target groups for the forum would be the ministers of states, diplomats, government officials, business men, African and Brazilian scholars. The sectors represented would be power, agribusiness, construction, transport, ICT, health ICT, finance, capacity development, security, and public-private partnerships.

Ms Sheila Moribame, head of public affairs, marketing and communication at BOCCIM, said delegates who wish to attend would pay for their travel, accommodation, visas and subsistence but there would be no cost to attend the event.

Ms Moribame said all sectors could participate as the event would be a forum for high level discussions to promote partnerships among key players in Brazil and Africa to leverage investment in infrastructure as well as business opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.

She said Brazil had enormous investment opportunities in infrastructure across sectors. Therefore, delegates would have the opportunity to meet with the private sector, producers, researchers, exporters, importers, investors, entrepreneurs, distributors and service providers in Brazil and Africa to discuss potential business partnerships.

The forum would also offer business-to-business meetings which would give the opportunity for mix match with the local businesses. BOCCIM highly recommended its members and other businesses who would be interested in expanding into international markets to use the platform.

A framework for cooperation of trade at all levels would be encouraged, as Africa is expected to be the most promising continent in the world.

Because entrepreneurs faced challenges in running businesses, summits such as the Brazil-Africa forum could offer businesses more investment opportunities globally. 

Delegates are expected to return home with high impact and innovative ideas to develop Botswana’s private sector. ENDS