22 Nov 2016

The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Cultural Development, Mr Thapelo Olopeng, has applauded Barclays Bank for impacting positively on the lives of Batswana.

“The private sector including companies like Barclays, have significantly contributed to the growth of the nation’s economy thus far.  The bank’s initiative such as the shared growth strategy is a testimony to the role they have played in the development of the economy,” said Minister Olopeng during the bank’s launch of the shared growth strategy in Kanye recently.

The minister was optimistic that the strategy would go a long way in empowering the youth since it focused on education and skills, enterprise development and financial inclusion.

He cited the ‘Ready to Work’ component of the strategy and explained that it would provide the youth with requisite skills needed for employment or to start their own businesses. “By so doing, the bank will be actively supporting entrepreneurship development,” he said.

Mr Olopeng also shared that the bank’s partnerships with Stepping Stone International (SSI) and Project Concern International (PCI) irectly benefited the youth and economically disadvantaged women.

In sport, he further highlighted that the bank supported the Kabelano Charity Cup and proceeds from the initiative were channeled towards charitable projects across the nation.

Mr Olopeng furthermore thanked Barclays for supporting the Kuru Dance Festival for the past two years.

The Minister therefore implored the private sector to continue coming up with initiatives tailor made for the youth and investing in youth enterprises adding the nation was hinging on the latter to drive the economy for the next 50 years.

Similarly, he encouraged the youth to take advantage of the available government programmes and better their lives.

For her part, the Barclays managing director (MD) Ms Reinette van der Merwe said the shared growth strategy was geared towards continuing to help Batswana secure an inclusive and economically sustainable future.

She said the strategy illustrated the bank’s commitment to the continued growth and development of the nation in a mutually beneficial manner to them as a corporate entity and to the people they served.

“We believe when our communities grow and prosper, we also grow and prosper and this is what we call shared growth,” she explained.

She said the strategy was a focused set of initiatives that aimed at building a more tangible legacy in Botswana with Batswana.

She said the spirit of the initiative was to prepare young people for the world of work, help small and medium sized businesses grow and to provide Batswana with financial services regardless of where they lived.

Member of Parliament for Kanye South constituency Mr Abram Kesupile encouraged the youth to seize opportunities presented by the bank to better their lives.

A beneficiary of the “Ready to Work” initiative Ms Tapiwa Ndjavera was happy that the skills she had acquired would enable her to find employment of her choice or start her own business. BOPA