25 Sep 2019

Having foreign investors set up shop in Botswana can give impetus to a drive to lower the country’s import bill.

In the presentations made by members of the Botswana delegation in Germany for the Botswana Investment Promotion Drive, the need to trim the import bill was among the central themes that cut across sector presentations.

Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) official, Mr Fana Kelebogile, on September 24 appealed to the German business community to invest in Botswana.

He said such a move would go a long way in helping the country become self-sufficient in a number of key commodities.

Mr Kelebogile implored the potential investors to not see Botswana’s state of being landlocked as a disadvantage, but that they should instead understand that the country’s geographical location in the heart of Southern Africa made it a strategic launching pad, particularly for trade.

“We should move away from the dictum that Botswana is landlocked. We are not landlocked; we are land-linked,” he explained.

Mr Kelebogile further informed the Germans that Botswana valued the contribution that foreign investors could made to the development agenda of the country.

“Botswana is of the view that if we want to grow, we have to go global,” he said.

From SPEDU, Mr Maiba Samunzala, shared similar sentiments that having foreign investors come on board would in the course of helping the country realise its development aspirations, also help it to solve thorny issues such as poverty and unemployment, which were a growing challenge.

Mr Samunzala said foreign investors would help, particularly through the impartation of key skills necessary to push Botswana towards an advanced stage of development.

Like other presenters, Tshesebe-based horticultural farmer, Mr Humphrey Barnard spoke of Botswana’s high import bill, describing the country as a net importer, especially since it was still far from attaining self-sufficiency in food.

“The only thing we are self-sufficient in is beef, but still, there is a missing link as we do not process it,” he observed.

Mr Barnard said the agricultural sector was thus one of several in which they were abundant opportunities that investors could take advantage of.

One factor that made Botswana stand out as an investment destination of choice, he said, was its low carbon footprint.

During the visit to Leipzig, the delegation, which was led by Botswana’s ambassador to Germany Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, had the opportunity to tour the BMW plant where it was taken through the manufacturing process of the BMW electric car.

The delegation comprises representatives of private businesses and heads of parastatals and associations in the sectors of energy, agriculture, automotives, innovation and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Ends