27 Aug 2019

 The acting Minister of Investment, Trade ad Industry Mr Karabo Gare has challenged Small Medium Micro-Entrepreneurs (SMMEs) to use platforms like the consumer fair to network and market their products.

Officially opening the 2019 Botswana Consumer Fair Mr Gare said the fair had over the years enabled manufacturers, wholesalers, traders and the general public to interact.

He said SMMEs should use such opportunities to network and ensure their products find shelf space in major retail stores.

Mr Gare explained that emphasis was on SMMEs as they were the catalyst to achieving economic growth and development, poverty reduction as well as economic diversification.

He, therefore, said prioritising SMMEs as an engine of economic growth would propel the economy towards a high-income status as envisioned in Vision 2036.

Mr Gare indicated the government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for the promotion of investment and development of sustainable industries and trade.

Minister Gare noted that Botswana had signed a number of International Trade Agreements among them the Continental African Trade Agreement with a view to diversify and grow economy,. 

The agreement offers Botswana goods and services access to 54 African countries with an estimated population of two billion.

In addition, he said the just-ended Parliament meeting also approved a number of laws in relation to industrial development such as the Trade Bill. 

The bill, he said aimed to simplify the licensing procedures and improve efficiency in the issuance of business licenses in order to improve the ease of doing business in Botswana.

However, Minister Gare noted that government’s efforts could not achieve economic growth alone.

He said a collective effort as government and private sector would help to diversify the country’s economy, emphasising that the quest to attain a knowledge-based and a diversified economy was to be led by the private sector.

He also said the trade ministry continued to prioritise the promotion of growth of the industry through the formation of sector clusters and value chains.

He said the Consumer Fair, therefore, provided an opportunity for the emergence of new businesses which would hopefully lead to new and existing players finding business opportunities within existing value chains.

For her part, Fairground Holdings (Pty) Ltd board chairperson Ms Ruth Mphathi said the consumer fair was the country’s go-to event for SMMEs attracting local, regional and international participants. 

Ms Mphathi indicated that over the years they had appreciated the level of innovation and flair of products by exhibitors, saying every year exhibitors came back better and improved.

The 2019 Botswana Consumer Fair is held under the theme: It’s More Than Just Shopping. 

It has attracted 510 exhibitors compared to 500 in 2018; with 10 from the SADC region and three international exhibitors from India, China and Japan. ENDS