05 Oct 2023

The President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, will officially open the 17th Global Expo Botswana (GEB) and the first European Union-Botswana Business Forum (EBBF) planned for October 11 – 14 in Gaborone.

About 500 delegates are expected to participate, with 300 companies anticipated to exhibit and an estimated total of 4,000 visitors to grace the event.

Briefing the media Wednesday, Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, confirmed that the European Commission’s the Deputy Director General – International Partnerships, Ms Myriam Ferran will attend.

Mr Kgafela said the aim was to facilitate about 500 business-to-business meetings and generate P30 million worth of business that included investment deals, local spending, and sale of products during the event.

Mr Kgafela said for this year’s edition of Global Expo Botswana, they were partnering with the European Union to deliver a two-day Business Forum on October 11-12.

He said the European Union-Botswana Business Forum offered an opportunity to explore new investment and trade opportunities between Botswana and European captains of industry, investors, private sector allow delegates and participants, policymakers, and financial institutions.

Mr Kgafela said the EBBF would give delegates and participants an opportunity to participate in Business-to-Business (B2B) sessions, roundtables, and informative workshops on targeted sectors.

Delivered under the theme, “Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a Springboard for Improved Intra-Africa Trade”, Mr Kgafela said the theme was in line with the resolutions of the African Union which had declared the year 2023 as the year of the AfCFTA.

Mr Kgafela described the GEB as a premier B2B and multi-sectorial expo organised and managed by the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

He said the expo was meant to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Botswana, citing that this was done through foreign companies exhibiting at the Global Expo Botswana, as well as to promote goods and services produced in Botswana to the international markets.

He said the expo aimed to facilitate sustainable business partnerships between Botswana businesses and their foreign counterparts through its signature programme called the Business Matchmaking Programme.

Through this matchmaking programme, joint venture partnerships and other forms of cooperation between local and international business partners would be facilitated, he said.

Mr Kgafela reiterated that the support by the European Union showed a strong commitment by the EU to assist SADC countries implement the SADC-EU Partnership Agreement.

EU Ambassador to Botswana and SADC, Ms Petra Pereyra, said the initiative would further boost EU-Botswana relations and elevate them to a higher level.

She said through forging strategic ties with Botswana, the EU wished to support the country to unleash its full economic potential to take it to high-income status by 2036.

Through the EBBF, Ms Pereyra said the EU would showcase its private sector and potential investors.

She further highlighted that the EU had more interest in Finance and Services, Green Energy and Digitalisation, mentioning that they expected about 100 registered participants from Europe, including entities from nine different EU member states, as well as chambers of commerce from four different countries.

She through the EBBF they hoped to help diversify exports from Botswana to the European Union and also in the wider SADC region. Ends