02 Oct 2019

Head of risk management at Green Tec, a German company specialising in green technologies, Mr Peter Grouer says the many positives attributes about Botswana make the country the envy of many international investors.

Presenting before a business delegation in Berlin on Friday, Mr Grouer noted that Botswana was not a typical African country as, in addition to being endowed with great wealth, the country also boasted of low levels of corruption, political and economic stability and had also successfully created a safe investment environment over the years.

Despite all the positives, he nonetheless said the country remained one of the most neglected in terms of foreign investments.

Mr Grouer, who indicated that Green Tec was presently operating in four African countries of Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria and Senegal, informed the Botswana delegation that the company hoped to expand into Botswana in the near future as it had, for a few years now, been exploring such a possibility.

He explained that in setting up shop in African countries, the company hoped to help countries within the continent to address some of the most persistent challenges they grappled with such as unemployment.

He said the company’s intention when investing in African countries was to help them to create the much-needed jobs and thereby attain some socio-economic development.

Mr Grouer, who said the company invested through going into partnerships with start-up ventures, added that Green Tec did not only bring funding to partner companies, but also brought skills and expertise, something that was expected to help advance the course of development of the respective countries with which the companies would have gone into collaboration.

Commenting after the Green Tec presentation, CEDA CEO, Mr Thabo Thamane noted that from the engagements previously held with the company’s executives, it had become apparent that there existed many possibilities for collaboration.

Mr Thamane said CEDA was hopeful that the two entities would explore the possibilities further and eventually find common ground on what area they could pursue.

Botswana’s ambassador to Germany, Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba observed that while it was heartwarming that the Green Tec had been looking to expand into Botswana, time had come for the company to finally make that happen.

Ms Masire-Mwamba noted that with its positive story about Botswana, there was no reason why Green Tec could not act on its desire to set up in Botswana.

Engagements with Green Tec formed part of the activities of the final day of a week-long mission to lure German investors to Botswana. ENDS