21 Jul 2021

The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, has commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for its robust efforts in supporting Botswana’s drive for economic diversification.

Minister Kgafela was giving a keynote address at the Annual UNDP Supplier Development Programme (SDP) in Gaborone recently.

He said the SDP complemented the Botswana Exporter Development programme particularly in supporting the capacity building of small medium enterprises (SMEs) and in fostering integration of the SMEs with larger businesses.

He said UNDP Botswana office had partnered with the government of Botswana and the private sector to implement the SDP.

“I am informed that in Year 1, the SDP supported seven buyers and 44 suppliers and in year two, [it] is supporting 12 buyers and at least 100 suppliers”.

Mr Kgafela also said the SDP focused on eight sectors of mining, agro-processing, Projects (infrastructure), leather, textiles, health, digital and other manufacturing.

He said these were in line with government’s reset mode indicative of its relevance and timeliness.

The minister also said UNDP continued to support the private sector recovery plan through business Botswana and the Informal Sector Strategy Development in support of the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA).

He also said the UNDP had assisted the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry in simplifying six selected trade agreements that Botswana was party to.

He also thanked the SDP project steering committee, which included MITI, Local Enterprise Authority and Botswana Chamber of mines, Business Botswana and many other companies.  

Mr Kgafela hailed UNDP for also supporting capacity development of the staff in the ministry to ensure that they were able to offer the requisite services that supported the private sector to fully exploit the opportunities in International trade.

“As if that was not enough, the UNDP is assisting the Ministry with the development of a Trade in services strategy for Botswana as well as a National Investment Strategy.”

He said UNDP Resident Representative, Ms Jacinta Barrins, thanked all partners for coming together to help the SMEs.  She said the SDP would engage large-scale companies willing to purchase goods and services and facilitate a business relationship with capacitated SMEs, which will be the suppliers.

She also said the programme would assist SMEs to be more efficient and competitive suppliers.

She said the objectives of the programme were to develop the productive capacity of SMEs to improve their competitiveness to become efficient and competitive suppliers to buyers.

Ms Barrins said this was also to create demand-based, market driven opportunities for SMEs to increase their competitiveness.

The SDP programme also would also connect essential small scale producer’s suppliers to larger markets locally as well as abroad.

He said this would help to expand and create more jobs for the SME’s suppliers.

Ms Barrins said they knocked on the doors of large companies for the SDP programme and all were delighted to help the SME’s.

She said to assist them they looked at the key issues, which were market, access to knowledge on how to run a business for the SME’s, and financing.

To that end UNDP recruited consultants and trained them so that they in turn could train the SME’S.

The sectors that were supported in this programme included Mining, Projects, Infrastructure, Agro Processing, leather and textiles. ENDS