27 Apr 2022

Start-up business owners in the SADC region should look beyond the borders to harness the value of regional cooperation and market integration to grow their businesses.
Speaking during the start-up regional event in Gaborone on Tuesday, acting Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Seipati Olweny said the SADC region provided a bigger and wider market for start-ups than the market size of an individual member state.
She, therefore, urged start-ups businesses participating in the regional event to take advantage of the various sessions and opportunities for networking and connecting with other businesses in the region.
She said the event provided a platform for constructive dialogue that would result in actionable points to create an enabling environment for start-ups and the wider business community.
Ms Olweny noted that government was committed to supporting start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as they were the sources of sustainable economic growth and job creation.
In his remarks, Director of Industrial Development and Trade for SADC Dr Khutula Sibanda said the event exposed participants and start-up business owners to the SADC regional integration processes, and how these could benefit them.
Some of the topical issues covered during the deliberations included an in-depth analysis of the implications of the SADC trade-in-services protocol for start-ups and the wider business community in terms of opportunities and threats as well as leveraging on digital economy and digital trade facilitation for start-up business development and growth.
Moreover, Dr Sibanda said the connect week would essentially help participants to improve their productive capacity and benefit from the SADC Free Trade Area, the Tripartite Free Trade, and the recently launched Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
The start-up connect week brought together innovators, techno-entrepreneurs, technology and innovation hubs from the region as well as development partners.
The event hosted by the German Development Cooperation in collaboration with the SADC Secretariat provided an open dialogue and discussions.   It is part of the Botswana Start-up Connect Weeks which started on April 19 and will end on May 4.  ENDS