04 Feb 2024

The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) has identified a number of projects that will grow the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, ultimately pushing towards the institution’s target of 17 per cent contribution to GDP by 2026.

In an interview Wednesday in Gaborone, LEA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Godfrey Molefe said this would be done in collaboration with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) ecosystem.

Amongst these projects, Mr Molefe said was the commissioning of Bokaa Textile Incubator which came as a response to government’s decision to ban importation of school uniforms.

Mr Molefe confirmed that Bokaa Textile Incubator stemmed amongst several community and operational projects the authority was engaged with.

He said the incubator was intended to capacitate deserving informal and formal textile enterprises through provision of shared advanced machinery and equipment.

Moreover, Mr Molefe said the incubator would introduce Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise to the latest designs and production technology intended to improve quality and output.

Further, Mr Molefe said already the authority was busy setting up other village incubator hubs which included amongst others, the Ghanzi Small stock incubator set to start operation during 2024/25 fiscal year.

He said the aim of the facility was to leverage on passion and resilience of livestock farmers in and around Ghanzi to create a commercial platform through clustering and creation of a Small Stock Centre of Excellence.

“The envisaged Small Stock Centre of Excellence is part of the small stock value chain and will feed into the Tsabong small stock abattoir thereby promoting excess to markets. Beneficiaries of this projects will mainly be from the informal sector,” he said.

Mr Molefe said they found an opportunity to empower the community of Letsholathebe through the establishment of a horticultural business.

He said the project mainly targeted the poverty eradication beneficiaries of Letsholathebe, citing that identified land measures 3.5 hactres and the portion of 1 hactre has been debushed and all the production area was already fenced.

The proposed production system, he said would encompass Open Field, Tunnels and Nethouse system to support the continuous production.

He said the business would eventually improve the economic benefits of the village by creating employment, contribution to reduction of imports, food security and the diversification of the economy.

The aim is to accelerate and upgrade manufacturing start-ups, improve quality of products and efficiency of enterprises through introduction of technology, he said noting that MSME sector input to the national GDP stood at 14.3 per cent (35billion) as at the end of 2019.

In sharing the authority’s performance over the last five years, Mr Molefe said a total turnover of LEA mentored SMMEs was P3.2 billion, P151 million import substitution, P671 million value of market linkages and 6 389 total jobs created and sustained.

He said LEA targeted to achieve P2.4 billion MSMEs turnover by March 2024, sustain 8 925 and create 2 200 jobs, citing that as at August 2023, 1 642 enterprises employed 9 385 people which LEA  aimed to sustain and increase.

Mr Molefe said LEA measured MSMEs performance through turnover, number of jobs created and sustained, value of exports, value of substituted imports, and value of markets secured and supplied because of LEA targeted interventions.

He said LEA also ensured that their registered MSMEs were sustainable and therefore, practiced evaluating enterprises survival rate.

The acting CEO said MSMEs were faced with challenges, citing that Market Access and limited access as well as affordability to funding remained prevalent.

However, he said through their Market Access Division, LEA facilitates Market Access for SMMEs, through fostering linkages between producers and buyers of various products and services.

He said over the years the authority had implored various platforms to create exposure of MSME goods and services, establishing supply opportunities further strengthen their products’ acceptance in the marketplace.

Mr Molefe said these platforms included buyer-seller fora, trade exhibitions, district shows and listings in buyers’ databases, mentioning that the authority facilitated an outstanding P419 million worth of market linkages for its registered MSMEs during 2022-2023. ENDS