13 Oct 2022

SPEDU in collaboration with Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC) will host the first SPEDU Market Expo in Selebi Phikwe on October 27.

The market expo, which will be held Sam Sono Stadium, is aimed at offering exhibitors an opportunity to showcase their products to potential buyers as well as establish new business contacts and synergies.

“We want to ensure that commodities that are produced within the region access or penetrate the markets, said SPEDU director-investment promotion, Ms Lesedi Lungu during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Ms Lungu explained that her team had put in place initiatives to reduce the cost of doing business in the form of incentives and government had 30 per cent reservation for commodities produced in the SPEDU region.

“We have a 30 per cent off-take agreement by government therefore the initiative of having a market expo is intended to showcase the commodities that we produce in the region for possible off-take by government institutions, departments, local authorities as well as for possible market penetration into the private sector,” she said.

The expo, she said was expected to attract about 200 institutions as prospective buyers, adding ‘we would also be showcasing products from companies facilitated by SPEDU and those facilitated by LEA.’

She said a total of 64 exhibiting companies would be from the textile industry, stationery sub-sector, light manufacturing, food processing industry, building and construction sphere and producers in the agri-business.

“We believe that government institutions that have a lot of feeding such as government schools, Botswana Defence Force and Botswana Prisons Service will have an appetite for such produce,” she said.

Ms Lungu further explained that the expo would be a closed event in the morning until 12 noon and later open to the public.

“We believe that contracts and possible sales would be made from this interaction. We continue to invite more stakeholders who have interest in what we are doing to come on board so that they come and appreciate the capability, capacity and the quality of the products produced in the SPEDU region,” she added.

Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Beauty Manake, is expected to officiate at the expo together with officials from the same ministry who would share on the new Economic Inclusive Act and other important Acts that would improve doing business in the SPEDU region. BOPA