09 Oct 2019

Certain industrial licenses will continue to be reserved for citizens or companies wholly-owned by citizens of Botswana, says Director in the Department of Industrial Affairs at the Ministry of Trade and Industry Ms Obusitswe Tiroesele.

When reviewing the role played by the government to promote the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector at the Stanbic Bank FMCG seminar in Gaborone on October 8, Ms Tiroesele said such licenses included bottling water, brick-moulding and welding among others.

“Since the implementation of the statutory instrument for the restriction of importation of bottled water, 41 enterprises have been established, a total of 22 companies operating in the water bottling sector and the employment level has increased from 196 to 417,” she said.

She also said the main objective of the statutory instrument for the restriction of importation of salt was to promote salt packaging locally and attract more investment, which would, in turn, create employment by prohibiting importation of salt in quantities less than 100kg.

Ms Tiroesele added that since the inception of the instrument, investment levels of salt packaging companies have increased from P9.925 million to P21.94 million and the number of companies packaging salt increased from six to 15 with an employment level also increased from 56 to 90 employees.

Giving a review of the Industrial Development Act and the Trade Act, Ms Tiroesele said businesses were expected to self-regulate meaning that businesses without health and safety measures could register and ensure that the ministry was notified of their existence within thirty days of setting up.

She said examples of such businesses included the production of school uniforms, textiles, printing and publishing and others.

She said in terms of building enterprise competitiveness, government had developed the Exporter Development Programme which targeted Botswana-based companies that have the potential to export and also assist manufacturers to compete both regionally and internationally.

She said the programme provided a platform to ensure intensive support to companies and enhance their export competitiveness.

Giving an overview of the FMCG sector in Botswana, Stanbic Bank Head of Transactional Products and Services Ms Tebogo Giddie said from a research perspective there were global trends such as environmental awareness whereby a lot of consumers were more cognizant of the negative effects of the development of products and by-products that influence consumer habits.

She said this, in turn, influenced manufacturers to consolidate to limit the value chains.

She also said nowadays there was a demand for convenience whereby consumers preferred ready-to-go meals, uber, all-in-one meal replacements and others.

She also noted that other global trends included experimental consumption, changing demographics, digital-savvy consumers and health consciousness. ENDS