31 May 2018

Young people have been urged to maximise opportunities for self-employment, job creation and income generation by taking advantage of several youth empowerment initiatives government has put in place.

Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Thapelo Olopeng said in recognition of the creativity and entrepreneurship of the youth, the ministry had introduced many exemptions from business process requirements for the youth across government.

Speaking at the 3rd Youth Business Expo held in Gaborone, which started on Tuesday (May 29) and ends tomorrow (June 2), Mr Olopeng said some of the exemptions included reduction or exemption from basket of applicable service provision fees such as those for tendering for government projects.

Mr Olopeng said his ministry also had value-added collaboration with the private sector for entrepreneurship development.

“Over and above the Youth Development Fund, we have partnered with financial institutions such as the First National Bank Botswana, with whom we have signed a value proposition agreement to mentor and financially capacitate our young people,” he said.

Minister Olopeng pointed out that they had a working relationship with De Beers to support young people through the Youth Innovators Forum.

He added that they would continue to lobby the private sector to partner with them in an endeavor to mentor, empower and invest in the youth for the long term.

He noted that government had continued to create a supportive business environment that stood to benefit the youth such as restrictions to support local business, especially for locally available goods and services.

“A case in point is the restriction on water bottling which will be implemented from August this year,” he said, which requires young people to venture into the business of bottled water.

About the launched Now Youth TV channel, he said, it had created a combined income of about P16.5 million for 28 youth businesses and government had budgeted over P58 million for acquisition of content for the channel.

However, he acknowledged the challenge of the required receiving equipment such as set top boxes for general viewership in the local market.

For his part, permanent secretary in the ministry, Mr Kago Ramokate called upon the youth to showcase their products, adding that the expo introduced them to a wider market base and at the same time learning from their peers.

One of the exhibitors, Mr Lazarus Sethare told BOPA that they were manufacturing animal feeds in the form of Phosphate Licks and Winter Licks.

The products, he added provided adequate proteins and phosphorus to ensure optimal reproduction in breeding animals.

Mr Sethare said they also promoted immunity against diseases. ENDS