29 Oct 2023

The fifth edition of the internationally acclaimed pan-African platform for innovative ideas with the potential to shape Africa’s future, Kusi Ideas Festival is coming to Botswana.

The Afrocentric festival will be held at Royal Aria in Tlokweng from December 6 to 9, Minister for State President Mr Kabo Morwaeng said in an interview with Botswana Television on Thursday.

The Kusi Ideas Festival, which was launched by the Nation Media Group (NMG) in 2019 will  be held under the primary theme: On the Road to Agenda 2063: Measuring Progress on the AU’s Big Plan to Transform Africa into the Global Powerhouse of the Future.

Minister Morwaeng said festival was previously hosted by Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and that  Botswana had been chosen for the fifth edition.

The festival, which would be in Southern Africa for the first time, he said, would attract over 700 delegates of various professions, skills and expertise across Africa and diaspora.

He said the event would be officially opened by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and other presidents would be invited.

Mr Morwaeng said the conference would centre on measuring Africa’s progress towards African Union’s Agenda 2063, which serves as Africa’s blueprint for sustainable development and economic growth.

He said that Agenda 2063 aspirations reflected on the continent’s desire for shared prosperity and well-being of its people, adding that Africa had skills and resources to address its own problems.

The minister said the African continent was endowed with various resources such as land, water as well as skills and expertise to drive the agenda, adding that good governance and skills sharing were some of the things still wanting.

As for local participation, Mr Morwaeng said government would in the near future issue an expression of interest for those wishing to partake in the festival. Admission would be free but limited, he said.

Nonetheless, others would be able to follow the proceedings through Botswana Television, Radio Botswana and other online media platforms.

Apart from the local media, he said, the Nation Media Group had an audience of over 20 million people across Africa, hence the festival would sell Botswana to a wider audience.

Kusi Ideas Festival would raise the country’s profile, he said, adding that the festival  was also in sync with the government’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) strategy, which aimed at opening the country to the world, hence boosting the local economy.

Further, he said the Reset and Agenda and Mindset Change  Initiative were well-regarded by the international community and had contributed at swaying the Kusi Ideas Festival organisers and others to choose Botswana as a host.

In addition, he explained that through the Kusi Ideas Festival, Botswana would sell its diamond story, tourism, beef industry and any other good that the country offers as well as lure investors.

“We will be luring them to come and invest in this country,” Mr Morwaeng said.

He highlighted that Botswana was proud and envied for the rule of law, governance, peace and stability that prevailed in the country.

Mr Morwaeng also said local businesses would network, seek growth and investment opportunities in other countries. Ends