23 Sep 2019

Botswana's ambassador to Germany has expressed optimism about the invaluable outcomes likely to be realised from this week's working visit to the European country by Batswana industry and business leaders.

In an interview after a preparatory meeting with the delegation on September 22, Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba said the positive response of German businesses to the week-long engagements with their Botswana counterparts was not only heartwarming but also indicated efforts to lure investors to Botswana would ultimately pay off.

She said with some German businesses having shown interest in expanding their operations to Botswana, it was pleasing that both government and the private sector were eager to receive them.

The ambassador noted that should the mission to woo German investors succeed, Botswana would benefit greatly given that Germany had attained great success in numerous fields.

She cited the automotive and energy sectors as some of the areas in which Germany had had unparalleled success.

There was no doubt, she said, that given its level of development, Germany had travelled a long and difficult road.

Ms Masire-Mwamba said though in comparison Botswana was still way behind, if determined enough to succeed, it would realise its development aspirations.

She said Botswana therefore needed to be well positioned to have a fair share of the German investors’ cake.

During the meeting, members of the delegation explained how engagements with their German counterparts would benefit  different sectors of the economy.

Botswana Railways chief executive officer, Mr Leonard Makwinja expressed the hope that the company would secure an investor to assist with the building of a maintenance workshop for its trains.

Currently, he said, train maintenance was done in South Africa noting that the planned workshop would contribute to ongoing job creation efforts.

Ms Mmantlha Sankoloba, chief executive officer of Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BEMA) said the forum was an invaluable opportunity for the organisation to identify businesses and enterprises with common interests.

Some of the areas in which BEMA hoped to find partners included agriculture and the automotive industry, she explained.

The delegation highlighted capacity building, funding for new projects and revitalisation of certain sectors of the economy as possible areas of investment.

The engagement between industry leaders of the two countries will focus on five sectors of energy, agriculture, automotive, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and innovation. Ends