18 Sep 2019

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the country’s economy and need to be supported to nature their growth.

Speaking at the Procurement and Enterprise Development Pitso in Gaborone on Tuesday, Barclays Bank managing director,  Ms Keabetswe-Pheko Moshagane said the aim of the pitso was to create dialogue around sustainable procurement, localisation, SME development and other topics that were unique to the procurement sector in Botswana.

The event, which was held under the theme: Unleashing the power of procurement to create access and opportunity for SMEs to drive inclusive growth, saw international and local procurement professionals give lectures through keynote presentations. 

She said Barclays Bank had made great strides in supporting local SME’s through initiatives such as the enterprise and supply chain development programme. 

The programme is a multi-faceted initiative to address core issues of SMEs which encompass access to capital, access to markets, business support and training.

The pitso aimed to bridge the gap in the market by bringing together procurement leaders and SMEs, offering an opportunity for both parties to interact and share ideas.

“Holding to the core of a pitso, there would be open dialogue from procurement managers sharing on specific available opportunities for local SME’s to take advantage off for the benefit of their organisations,” said Ms Pheko-Moshagane.

The event targeted SME’s, entrepreneurs as well as ministers, deputy ministers, procurement officers, chief operating officers, supply chain managers and many others.

She further noted that the Procurement and Enterprise Development Pitso was strategically designed to bring together seasoned procurement professionals and experts together with local SMEs to create an impactful platform for a mutually beneficial learning experience.

“It was our believe as responsible corporate citizens that as Barclays Bank of Botswana we are in a unique position to serve SMEs by using our core asset, strategic positioning and influence to position our SMEs locally for a better sustainable growth,” she said.

Ms Pheko-Moshagane said this was done by identifying large corporates that did business with Barclays and influencing them to identify opportunities within their supply chain that could be opened up for SMEs

She also said the SME sector had proven to be an important driver of economic growth and employment creation across the world

“In Botswana research has shown that nearly 90 per cent of registered companies are SMEs, and with regards to employment creation, it employs over 3 000 people both formally and informally. 

In 2018 alone, P80 million was disbursed through the programme to local SMEs mainly in the mining sector, and from January to June this year P50 million was further disbursed and the intention is to continue funding the SMEs through this programme,” said Ms Pheko-Moshagane.

For his part, the chief negotiator at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Phadza Butale applauded Barclays Bank for coming up with the interactive engagement between SMEs and sector specialists in procurement

Mr Butale pointed out that government was serious about SMEs development, and that it has decided to split the ministry into two, being the ministry of trade and industry and ministry of small and medium enterprises. ends