31 Aug 2015

The Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) acting branch manager in Francistown, Mr Oupa Sabata says young people are dragging their feet to venture into business.

Giving a presentation at the ongoing Tonota council meeting, Mr Sabata said most young people were afraid to approach CEDA offices, citing lack of security for them to put forward in order to be financed.

He said they usually sit down with a client and look at the market sustainability and also assist in mentoring them in the areas that most clients lacked support on.

Mr Sabata appealed to young people not to listen to misleading information since they would not achieve anything in realising their dreams.He urged young people to visit CEDA offices and learn more, noting that some of the businesses they finance did not require security.

Furthermore, he noted that there was P4 million loans that were specifically reserved for Batswana only, adding however that if they needed to bring along a foreigner, he or she needed to bring expertise that could not be found in a citizen.

Mr Sabata noted that every business has challenges, adding that if profit was not manageable it caused the business to collapse more easily.

He stressed that they were an agency that provided for the development of sustainable citizen owned enterprises by providing a variety of loan facilities for businesses.

Responding to the presentation, councillor Fletcher Mothubane pleaded with CEDA to simplify their application forms because business plans were expensive for consultants.

Cllr Mothubane also appreciated the information provided and urged CEDA officials to keep informing the nation. ENDS