18 Aug 2024

Three months following the last Forbes Under 30 Summit in Gaborone, some of the youth who had the opportunity to attend continue to sing praise and hail His Excellency President Dr Mokgweetsi  Eric Keabetswe Masisi for keeping his promises made during his inaugural address as the president in 2019.

President Masisi had promised creation of meaningful and sustainable jobs through promotion of public private partnership with local and foreign investors in different key sectors as one of government’s key priorities.

“Young people are the hardest hit by unemployment, and to alleviate the challenge, I commit to prioritise job creation and other empowerment measures during my tenure” said President Masisi.

One of the successful stories in this regard is the Forbes Under 30 summit conducted in 2022 and the first of its kind in the country and the whole of Africa.

Over 600 of the world’s most elite entrepreneurs including 200 from Botswana attended the summit. Its return in 2024 leveraged the power of entrepreneurship to help define the 21st century, create and drive change, revolutionise business and make an impact in various entrepreneurial areas.

The Summit provided another opportunity for youth entrepreneurs to learn from one another, build their initiatives and also to seek new avenues for job creation for fellow youth. It was also to inspire the youth to create commercially viable high-value products and services aimed at the export market.

One of the attendees, founder and creative director of Glotto, Ms Mboko Basiami said the summit was a logical step for her commitment towards innovation and growth. It was also an opportunity to network, gather insights and apply what she learnt to her business.

“The summit offered invaluable exposure to global trends, network opportunities and insights from industry professionals. This will undoubtedly empower me to broaden my business perspectives and strategies I learnt about from some international entrepreneurs could be a stepping stone towards successful collaborations.” she said.

Co-founding partner at Pusoentsi Moreeng Legal, Mr Persival Moreeng said while lack of financing for start-ups remains an issue, some of the youth’s failure to turn their company ideas into reality has a detrimental influence.

However, he is hopeful that initiatives such as Forbes Under 30 Summit will put the youth in the right path towards execution, innovation and growth of their ideas, which will transform the narrative of some of the youth-owned business.

Chief Executive Officer of Tatsands Mining Services, Ms Sheri Gareikitse said she learnt that entrepreneurship was a journey in which one kept getting better through learning and experience. She said through the Summit, she learned that every business idea was achievable as long as one was determined.

“This is a commendable job for the government to have pulled such a Summit. I wish there could be an after summit support system to facilitate mentorship of locals by international industry players through business shadowing,” she said.

Chief public relations officer at the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Mr Fenny Letshwiti said the summit was one of government’s initiative intended to accord young Batswana entrepreneurs an opportunity to interact and benchmark from other international entrepreneurs.

He said this was also to enable them to play a role towards the economic diversification measures, to aid in transformation of the country to a high income status by 2036 as well as to set efforts to attain measures that supported prosperity for all citizens.

“The summit was an advantage that showcased Batswana entrepreneurs’ potential and positioned them well on the global market and also accorded them networking and possible collaboration means. We are hopeful to reap well from it all,” he said. Ends