19 Aug 2014

Francistown is strategically positioned to be a gateway to many unearthed economic possibilities in the northern and eastern parts of Botswana, the Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe has said

Officiating at the Francistown Investment Forum, Dr Kedikilwe said Francistown was at the intersection of the main routes to Zimbabwe, Zambia and DRC and can therefore play a pivotal role in driving investor growth and providing linkages with clientele in the SADC region.

He assured the Francistown leadership that government was committed to providing all the necessary support to ensure that the city's 2022 vision became a reality.

“We owe it to Batswana and the international community, particularly the investment industry to reiterate that setting up entities in Francistown and investing in growing those that already exist here is a critical next step for all who aspire to experience drastic and long term business growth,” he said.

Dr Kedikilwe said deliberations at the investment forum should focus on developing ways of ensuring that the business aspired to produce good quality goods and services to withstand competition in the export market.

He noted that there were various investment opportunities to be explored noting that although Botswana had a small population, it was the second largest consumer in the region and government had a huge import bill which amounted to over P20 billion in 2010 of which 65 per cent was for consumer goods.

Dr Kedikilwe said 70 per cent of Botswana’s mining activity took place in the northern region with Francistown as the regional administrative and commercial centre.

He said Francistown was a key player in Botswana’s agricultural industry being the heart of a region that was one of the country’s largest contributors to pastoral agriculture, which contributed significantly to the country’s GDP.

Francistown’s strategic geographical location meant it could unlock access to about 200 million potential customers annually.

Dr Kedikilwe said Botswana was faced with a serous unemployment challenge and with the vision such as this one for Francistown, there could be opportunity for more employment creation and thus community transformation.

“Choosing to invest in Francistown will go a long way in assisting Botswana reach the target of full employment through formal or informal sectors of the economy and it is critically important that opportunities and a favourable climate be deliberately created to enhance the informal sector in many ways,” said Dr Kedikilwe.

He said investment in Botswana through Francistown will be answering the national Vision 2016 pillar of creating a prosperous, productive and innovative nation, “Through this pillar we aspire to have much higher international business rankings, fostering a good investment climate”.

The theme of the forum is “City of Francistown: An investment centre of choice by 2022- A step forward to your investment”. ENDS