14 Feb 2023

People of Okavango have been challenged to position themselves for the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) regional competitions by diversifying their crafts.

Giving insights about the competition during a kgotla meeting in Gumare on Monday, Women in Business Association (WIBA) head of textiles Ms Gillian Rathari encouraged them to make use of their rich culture by making winning crafts that  appeal to a wider market.

Ms Rathari said this could be achieved by conducting research to improve their crafts and marketing strategies by embracing the use of social media.

“The competitions will see three winners from five sub-regions in the North West and Okavango converging in Maun for the finals in May for selection of overall winners,” she said.

The competitions target women and youth in the North West and Okavango with categories for women in basket-weaving and handcrafts while youth both males and females have been catered for in basketry and handcrafts.

 The performing arts category targeted all age groups and genders to produce a piece of art promoting AGOA.

Women in Business Association  regional chairperson Ms Christinah Leshego said the competitions were meant to promote AGOA, which promoted free trade from such African countries as Botswana to America.

The competitions ran from Monday and will end in April, where three winners would be selected from Gumare, Etsha 6, Sepopa, Shakawe and Maun sub-regions.

Ms Leshego encouraged the Okavango community to participate in the competitions in large numbers and submit competitive products to meet the AGOA standard.

Women in Business Association was formed to advocate for women entrepreneurs to ensure favourable policies were implemented.

A trade officer from the Department of International Trade in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Morgan Matale encourage all to work in groups to ensure quality products were produced and to explore government initiatives that assisted businesses.

Nominated councilor for Okavango, Ms Keokeditswe Rangosa thanked WIBA for bringing such an opportunity to Okavango and urged the attendants to use the information positively to improve their crafts in order to benefit more from their talents. Ends