09 Sep 2022

Women have been encouraged to take advantage of opportunities presented by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Gideon Mmolawa, said this at the Women in Business Association (WIBA) seminar in Maun on Wednesday.

He said AGOA enabled Batswana to export products to the United States, adding it was also imperative for entrepreneurs to be resilient in order to meet the demand for their products.

He said AGOA Export Master Plan recognised the role of women and youth in economic matters hence highlighting the need for mentoring and business linkages, building capacities within rural and special groups and networking opportunities.

Mr Mmolawa said the seminar would be followed by a series of training sessions for women as a build-up to the Ngamiland region AGOA competitions next month.

The DPS said Ngamiland was selected as an inaugural region for the competitions due to its strategic location and uniqueness with a natural eco-system factored by wildlife and diverse cultures and their unique crafts.

He said the competitions offered a platform for business growth and further uplifted women and youth to utilise the opportunities in AGOA through mentorship from WIBA, Ministry of Trade and Industry and private sector.

Mr Mmolawa said this initiative provided participants in rural areas with post COVID-19 opportunities in trade development and also created synergies within the informal sector and its value chains.For her part, Batawana regent, Kgosi Kealetile Moremi thanked WIBA for hosting the symposium in Ngamiland, adding it would motivate women to work hard towards attainment of their business goals.

She said stakeholder engagement symposium came at a strategic time when the world was recovering from COVID-19 pandemic which had negatively affected the livelihood of people.

“Many people were left without jobs and most businesses collapsed due to the pandemic and we are glad to see such initiatives that aim to revive businesses and also teach women in Ngamiland about AGOA because there is a lot of unique culture and arts here.’’

WIBA president, Ms Nametso Ntsosa-Carr, said WIBA formed membership of the revised structure of AGOA reference group to advocate for participation of women in economic matters.ENDS