24 Jan 2024

Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) is working to establish a horticulture market at Block 3, in Gaborone, to address the slow growth of the horticultural sector in the country.

Presenting CEDA’s mandate and achievements before Ntlo ya Dikgosi on January 22, CEDA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thabo Thamane, said the horticulture market, which was expected to commence operations in April this year, would also assist local farmers to take advantage of the recent moratorium of horticultural products by increasing their production to meet the local demand and access the global market.

“In pursuit of its mandate, of providing financial assistance for all viable citizen enterprises and joint ventures in all activities of the economy CEDA provides access to finance through the following financial products; mainline, microfinance, structured finance, trade finance, pandemic response, project facilitation fund and cooperatives,” he said.

Mr Thamane said the agency also offered access to non-financial services in the form of mentoring and training to its clients. Since its inception, to September 2023, he said CEDA had funded 23 622 businesses across different sectors, such as; manufacturing, services, property and agriculture at the approval value of more than P7.4 billion.

The agency, he said, also intended to go big in the agriculture space, adding that CEDA had financed 15 429 service businesses at more than P3.5 billion, 6 284 agriculture businesses at more than P2.1 billion, 1 504 manufacturing businesses at more than P878 million and 405 property businesses at more than P949 million.

As a development financial institution, Mr Thamane said, CEDA financed both start-ups and existing projects aiming to close the financing gap to a market that would otherwise not be as desirable to the commercial banks as they may be viewed as more risky.To date, he said, the agency had also financed 6 516 start-ups and 16 524 existing businesses at the approval value of P3.5 billion and P3.7 billion, respectively.Mr Thamane said government had deliberately taken a stance to support and stimulate economic participation, especially by special interest groups such as women, youth and people living with disabilities.

Therefore, he said since economic participation and inclusivity is key to CEDA, the agency intended to contribute to the attainment of this vision through financial inclusion of these special interest groups.

In line with this vision, as of September 2023, Mr Thamane said, the agency had funded 11, 796 women-owned businesses, 7 890 youth-owned businesses and 115 businesses owned by people living with disabilities with P445 million, P1.4 billion and P15 million, respectively.He said in response to the numerous challenges faced by the youth, such as lack of financial assistance which led to unequal participation in socio-economic activities, the agency intended to develop tailor made funding initiatives that would help ramp up financial inclusion of youth.

“Financial inclusion of these groups is central to ending poverty and fostering shared prosperity, so as they enjoy equal access to opportunities,” he stressed. Since inception, Mr Thamane said, CEDA had maintained 42 464 jobs through funding existing businesses and created 51 243 new jobs.In an effort to improve inclusiveness for people living with disabilities, he said, CEDA had developed braille business plan forms, loan application forms and incentives through its revised guidelines. 

He said to continue its efforts, the agency also intended to develop funding initiatives that would help ramp up financial inclusion for people living with disabilities. ENDS