05 Jun 2024

Debswana Diamond Company has partnered with Stanbic Bank Botswana in a P5 million grant disbursed over five-years to empower and capacitate businesses owned by women, youth and differently-abled entrepreneurs.

The Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) grant is intended to close the economic gap created by peculiar challenges faced by marginalised groups.

Speaking at the launch of the grant in Jwaneng on Tuesday, Jwaneng Mine acting general manager, Mr Goitseone Gadifele said the partnership was intended to promote economic activity by igniting the entrepreneurship spirit among locals. 

He noted that the initiative would also go a long way in contributing towards inclusion of all citizens willing to participate in the economic field, and by extension creating employment opportunities for others. 

“Partnerships and initiatives such as this one are pivotal to foster inclusion of all citizens to participate in economic activities that create solutions to our present challenges and create the much needed employment in our communities,” he said.

He noted that the initiative resonated with the mine’s goal of citizen economic empowerment and positively impacting on communities within their area of influence. 

He said through the Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP), they continued to make strides in promoting the growth of SMMEs through creating a conducive business environment and prioritising local procurement for their goods and services.

He added that the programme had created employment opportunities and contributed towards economic diversification. However, he acknowledged the need to assess the challenges faced by beneficiaries such as funding accessibility. 

“Although we have made notable progress, we endeavour to find ways to extend the scope of this programme to address challenges raised by our current and potential beneficiaries. One of the new inclusion of the programme aims to achieve various objectives including enhancing payment terms and facilitating funding access through partnerships such as the one with Stanbic Botswana.

Additionally, Mr Gadifele noted that the values espoused in the CEEP did not only promote quality goods and services offered to consumers, but also ensured that businesses were competitive in the market. He said the programme also stimulated economic activities that would sustain communities beyond the diamond mining era.

For her part, Stanbic Botswana head of CEEP, Ms Kushata Chilisa applauded Debswana for its commitment towards citizen empowerment as evidenced by tailor-made programmes in various sectors. She said the partnership was a result of the synergy of goals and values driving the two organisations. 

She noted that in addition to availing funds, the initiative also entailed capacitating SMMEs and taking them through the entrepreneurship journey. 

She said although beneficiaries were not obligated to pay back the funds, they were expected to develop sustainable businesses. 

“The only expectation that we have on entrepreneurs is to ensure that the businesses become sustainable. We will offer that support to yourselves over and above capacity building,” she said.

Ms Chilisa further appreciated challenges faced by women the world over when it came to participating and contributing towards economic growth, as compared to their male counterparts. Subsequently, she said the grant would  focus on women, youth and differently-abled people. Ends