06 Nov 2016

The Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi, says introduction of locally manufactured Almaz technology products came at a time when the economy was affected by the volatility of commodity prices.

Giving a keynote address at the launch of Almaz in Gaborone on Friday (November 4), Mr Masisi said it was encouraging that two young Batswana came up with the initiative to set up a manufacturing company that would produce products such as smartphones, iPad, laptops and computers.

He said the launching of Almaz was particularly significant to Botswana’s efforts to diversify its economy through information and communication technology (ICT) at 50 years of independence.

Mr Masisi said it was critical that the private sector played an active role in creating and developing industries, which previously did not exist in Botswana and those that were different from the original primary sector industries such as mining and farming; and taking into consideration other factors such as environmental as well as socio-economic factors.

Mr Masisi told the attendants that ICT was a critical industry that must be used to grow and diversify Botswana to the knowledge economy.

He noted that a digital revolution could form the foundation of a sustained global economy, providing another source of growth.

“The importance of this occasion cannot be underplayed.

The launch of Almaz epitomizes the shift in global industrialisation trends where we have begun to see the relocation of light manufacturing away from China to other emerging market economies,” he said.

He also urged government ministries and the general populace to support Almaz so that it could grow.

Almaz, he noted, has invested P20 million in this operation. With a plan to build a distribution, warranty and services network with 23 regional centres to provide warranty and support services to communities.

The operation is set to create 500 skilled jobs in the first year, while indirectly acting as a catalyst to local content development.

Speaking at the launch, Almaz co-founder and chairperson, Mr Monametsi Kalayamotho said plans to open an assembly plant in Botswana had been under way for the past year and a half and they had done benchmarking in similar environments like Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Portugal.

“We are excited to be launching a new brand into the market. Our aim is to have Almaz produce gadgets with competitive quality and price for the local market.

As a tech company, it is important to affiliate with global tech suppliers in order to provide the best possible service.

It is for this reason that Almaz is a Microsoft Named Partner (OEM) and Intel Partner (OEM) in all gadgets we produce.

This gives us a competitive edge, as we are able to preload our devices with content that is relevant to Botswana and Africa.”

In addition, he said, “Almaz is not only about computer assembly but also expansion of electronics manufacturing and a catalyst for content development and Research & Development.”

The company showed off some of the gadgets they would be producing locally to the stakeholders who attended the launch.

Mr Kalayamotho said the company is coming into production at the right time.

“We have had ambitions of establishing a company of this nature for a while now; however the conditions were not conducive at the time.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Mr Vincent Seretse said government came up with a deliberate move of introducing economic diversification as a vehicle to attract more private investment and encourage local trade and manufacturing.

He decried that the country had a huge import bill of over P76 billion annually. ENDS