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BITC ENDS 2018 WITH A SUCCESSFUL GLOBAL EXPOBotswana Investment And Trade Centre (BITC) hosted

the 13th edition of Global Expo Botswana (GEB) themed,

“Seizing Opportunities Through Networking with Global

Business Leaders” from October 30, to November 2, 2018

at Fairgrounds in Gaborone. This year, GEB provided an

unprecedented opportunity for local businesses to meet

and develop strategic business partnerships with attending

international investors from across the world.

The attendance was marked by 230 exhibitors from 17

different countries namely, South Africa, Swaziland, Ghana,

Sweden, Zimbabwe, India, China, Cyrus, Ethiopia, Germany,

and Indonesia. The Expo also saw 4500 visitors.

The 2018 GEB was officially opened by the Vice President of

the Republic of Botswana, His Honour Slumber Tsogwane

and Vice President of the Republic of India, His Honour

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu on October 31, 2018. The

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Honourable

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo was also present to officiate at the

Private Business Growth Awards. During his keynote address

the Vice President stated that, “I am pleased that Global

Expo Botswana has made huge strides since its inception in

2006 and has over the years grown to be a premier business-

to-business exposition that serves as a platform for cross-

fertilization of business ideas and partnerships.

Some of the successful outcomes of this platform will be

shared with you tonight, as deserving winners of Grant

Thornton’s Private Business Growth Awards who have shown

growth in the areas innovation, market development, people

and culture, strategic leadership and financial performance.”

This year the 6th Investment and Trade Conference was

held prior to the Official Opening with international speakers

from as far as Greece, Italy, South Africa, the United States

of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The

dialogue was themed, “How can Botswana successfully

diversify her economy from dependence on a single

resource.”

The Investment and Trade Conference ran concurrently

with various sector specific workshops such as Investment

Opportunities in the Selebi Phikwe Economic Diversificaion

Unit (SPEDU) Region, Export to Sweden Business seminar, the

United Nations (UN) Procurement Seminar, Doing Business

with Zimbabwe, and Korea-Botswana Business CSR Forum.

GEB also introduced the inaugural Investment Battlefield, an

initiative that served as a platform for local entrepreneurs to

pitch their business ideas in order to secure financing from

an investor.

NEWSLETTERISSUE 3DECEMBER 2018

The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Honourable Bogolo J. Kenewendo with the winners of the 2018 Private Business Growth Awards.

Contuinues to Page 3...

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Visit us at www.gobotswana.com

www.facebook.com/bitc

Botswana Investment and Trade Centre

@ Go_Botswana

www.linkedin.com/companies/ botswana-investment-and-trade-centre

@ Go_Botswana1

CONTRIBUTORS:Itumeleng TeseletsoTsogo EalotseNonhlanhla LedimoThuso PalaiTemo Ntapu

The third quarter of 2018/2019 was characterized with plenty of activities that are aligned to the newly launched Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) Corporate Strategy. The five-year strategy was launched on August 3, 2018 with the primary objective of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), growing Domestic Investment (DI), promoting Botswana’s exports and promoting the national brand. During this quarter, BITC hosted a successful Global Expo Botswana (GEB) which received reviews on its exponential growth. GEB has proven to be Botswana’s premier business expo and it provides a platform for the countries business community to network and build linkages with the international community.

The Q3 newsletter also reports on Botswana’s participation at the inaugural China International Import Expo and the opportunities created through our participation. This newsletter also reports on BITC’s continuous efforts to build partnerships with educational institutions such as Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. Botswana continues to lure global investors with the Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry at the helm of these efforts. Notably during this period, BITC engaged Compsol from South Africa and this is bearing fruits. Engagements were also done as part of the President of the Republic of Botswana’s state visit to the People’s Republic of China. In this issue, there is a thought leadership article that discusses the benefits for Botswana companies in being part of the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).

As is the norm we are promoting and profiling one of BITC’s assisted companies and our focus this quarter is Maneblock (Pty) Ltd. Enjoy this edition and do not hesitate to give us feedback on our website: www.bitc.co.bw and on our various social media pages!

BOATAMETSE MONGATICommunication Specialist

BITC ends 2018 with a successfull Global Expo

Botswana courts German investors

MITI Minister leads a delagation to China

Global Expo in Pictures

BITC and Limkokwing sign an Agreement

Profiling our leaders: Mr K.K Lebotse

Botswana lures global investors

Opportunities through AGOA

Introducing a BITC assisted company: Maneblocks Holdings

Go to the land of blue sky opportunities

Continues from Page 1

The Official Opening was also held alongside the 2018 Grant

Thornton Private Business Growth Awards (PBGA). The

purpose of the awards were to honour private companies

that are BITC and Grant Thornton assisted with categories

in Investor of the Year-Manufacturing, Investor of the year-

Services Sector, Exporter of the year and lastly Investor of the

year-Expansions. The winners for the night were companies

such as Mpotsa, Chloride Excide, Northern Textile, Bokomo

and Flotek Botswan BITC hosted yet another successful GEB

that will pave way for a bigger and better Expo in 2019.

BOTSWANA COURTS GERMAN INVESTORS Botswana Investment and Trade Centre hosted an inward German Business Seminar on November 21, 2018. The forum was hosted to enable business interactions between the German delegation and their Botswana counterparts. The aim of this mission was to also develop new partnerships and to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

The sectors of interest at the Business Seminar and

during the Business to Business meetings were mainly in

Manufacturing, Infrastructure Development, Information

Communication Technology (ICT), and Mining and Energy.

The Business Seminar which was held at the Gaborone

International Convention Centre (GICC) was officiated by

the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Honourable

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo.

In attendence to introduce the German companies was

Permanent, Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs

in Germany, Dr. Nussbaum. In her welcome remarks,

Honourable Minister Kenewendo highlighted that,

“Botswana is aware that the German economy is the largest

in Europe, and a critical market which Botswana can take

advantage in exploring trade and investment opportunities.

The two countries have been trading together and as at 2017

Botswana exported P38 million worth of goods to Germany

while for the same period Botswana imported P523 million

worth of goods such as motor cars, electrical equipment,

medical consumables, instruments and appliances.”

BITC Chief Executive Officer, Keletsositse Olebile presented

on the benefits of investing in Botswana, he explained

that since Botswana is often said to have an undesirable

population status for setting up huge investments, the

most opportune way is to access the Southern African

Development Comunity (SADC) region through Botswana.

Mr. Olebile further stated that Botswana is also the best

country to set up Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) as the

workforce is 85 percent literate. The CEO indicated that BITC

is advocating for investment growth and seeking to pursue

greater collaboration and stimulate increased trade and

investment in the Selebi Phikwe Economic Diversification

Unit (SPEDU) region. In closing he implored the German

Business delegation to consider expanding to Botswana and

allowing BITC to be their freind in investment.

The Vice President of Botswana, His Honor, Slumber Tsogwane giving the key note address at the 2018 GEB.

The Acc Tech stall at the 2018 GEB.

The Vice President of the Republic of India, His Honour Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu on a tour of the stall. He is accompanied by the BITC CEO, Keletsositse Olebile.

4

The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Honourable

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo led a Botswana delegation to

Shanghai, China for the inaugural China International Import

Expo from November 5 to November 10, 2018. The mission

was preceded by a series of engagements with the Chinese

business community with Botswana Investment and Trade

Centre (BITC) and the Government of Botswana in the past.

The engagements included a Botswana and China Business

Forum during an inward mission in July. A State Visit to the

People’s Republic of China by the President of the Republic

of Botswana, His Excellency Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi where

BITC hosted a Botswana and China Business Forum in Beijing

in September was also a notable activity. There were about

50 Botswana companies led by His Excellency, President

Masisi.

The business potential that exists between Botswana and

China was further exploited by BITC’s participation at the

inaugural China International Import Expo. This participation

was an opportunity to sustain momentum to further

facilitate business between Botswana and China as the

CIIE event was an assertion by the Chinese Government to

promote the development of world economy and global

trade and achieve common prosperity. The Expo was officially

opened by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended

by Heads of States and Government, Ministers, Senior

Government Officials and Representatives from International

Organizations. The Official Opening was attended by the

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Trade

and Industry (MITI), Ms Peggy Serame. The Expo was not only

an open international cooperation platform built by China for

presenting national development achievements to all other

countries in the world and conducting foreign trade, but it

was also an international public event provided for all the

countries with the aim of discussing major issues of foreign

trade and world economy. BITC collaborated with Botswana

Tourism Organization (BTO) to manage the Botswana stall

which showcased Botswana products as well as its tourism

offering. The products which were displayed were canned

beef, basketry, semi-precious stones, moringa products as

well as cereal products; beans and sorghum.

A key part of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) was

the Exhibition and National Country Pavilion as the exhibition

brought together over 5000 visitors and exhibitors consisting

of eight exhibition halls consisting of Trade in Services;

Automobile, High-end Intelligent Equipment, Medical

equipment and Health Care Products, Apparel, Accessories

and Consumer Goods, Diamond and Gems Pavilion, Consumer

Electronics and Appliances, Food and Agricultural Products. In

addition to the Expo, there was a line-up of activities planned

for the Botswana delegation. These activities included an

International Economic and Trade Forum which was one of

the most important parts of CIIE. The theme of the Forum

was “Spurring new vitality of global trade creating an open

and win-win scenario.” The Forum included three parallel

sessions on; Trade and Opening; Trade and Innovation; and

Trade and Investment.

During the mission, the Botswana delegation attended a

two-day workshop on the New Economy organized by the

Alibaba Group notably the Alibaba Business School. During

this period, the Alibaba Group showcased the capabilities

and promise of a new digital economy. The aim was to

ensure that delegates gain an understanding of how these

technologies and methodologies can be used to improve

outcomes in Botswana and the rest of Africa. The workshop

incorporated firsthand experience with real life digital

economy applications to provide a framework for creating a

regulatory environment that encourages growth across the

fintech, logistics, e-commerce and big data industries.

The delegation also took a tour of the Alibaba Museum to

appreciate the entire Alibaba ecosystem and its origins. They


MITI MINISTER LEADS A DELEGATION TO CHINA

Chinese visitors at the Botswana stall.

The Executive Director, Export Development and Promotion, Trunklinah Gabonthone with the Manager, Export Prmotion, Itumeleng Teseletso at the CIIE with stall visitors.


visited the Taobao Village to attain first hand experience

and understanding of ecommerce development in a

rural area setting. The delegation comprised of the MITI

Officials, representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of

Botswana in China, Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA),

Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Local

Enterprise Authority (LEA), Moro Group, Botswana Tourism

Organization and BITC.

Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), through

Brand Botswana, signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) with the Limkokwing University of Creative

Technology in Botswana. The main aim of the partnership

was to advance relations between the two institutions as

well as between Botswana and Malaysia. These institutions

will in future collaborate on mutually beneficial initiatives

in the two countries to increase awareness of Botswana

and her value proposition. The key areas of collaboration

include Investment Promotion, Nation Branding, Human

Development and Skills Transfer.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the BITC Chief Executive

Officer, Keletsositse Olebile highlighted that the signing of

the MoU will have far reaching benefits for both institutions.

BITC will tap into the educational institution’s global network

and influence in Malaysia. This, he stated will push the

organization’s Investment Promotion and country promotion

efforts. Limkokwing University has a global footprint that

BITC as Botswana’s investment promotion agency will look

to exploit.

Mr. Olebile went on to say that through Brand Botswana,

BITC is mandated to create awareness about Botswana

in all four corners of the world, hence the eagerness

to identity and work with key partners with a presence in

Botswana, such as the Limkokwing University which also

has a global reach. Malaysia, where Limkokwing University

originates, is one of the key markets that the organisation

is targeting for Foreign Direct Investment (FD) attraction.

Through the MoU, Limkokwing University will assist BITC

to penetrate the Malaysian market which offers a plethora

of potential FDI opportunities, which include, but are not

limited to an exploration of Malaysia’s Financial Services,

Applied Information Communication Technology (ICT)

and manufacturing specifically in the areas of textiles

and garments, as well as rubber. BITC will pursue these

opportunities, through collaborative efforts with the

University brand.

Limkokwing is renowned for its cutting edge creative and

technological prowess, and this is another avenue that BITC

will leverage on. It opened its first African campus in Botswana

11 years ago and has since gone on to open campuses in three

other African countries. Speaking on behalf of Limkokwing

University, Vice President of Industry Empowerment and

Faculty Leadership His Highness Dato Raja Aznil Hisham

thanked BITC for having approached the institution for the

partnership. He said the university takes Botswana as its

second home as the campus here is one of their first global

campuses, and the first in Africa. He said the partnership will

be mutually beneficial for the two institutions and that they

will tap into each other’s mandates, strengths and resources.

Several key initiatives have already been identified for collaboration, including Botswana’s participation at the London Fashion Week, a Botswana Promotional Activation in Kuala Lumpur, a Cultural Exchange Programme between Botswana and Malaysia, as well as collaborative participation in international Expos in the Asia Market.

BITC AND LIMKOKWING SIGN AN AGREEMENT


BITC team with the Limkokwing management at the signing ceremony

BITC CEO Keletsositse Olebile and Limkokwing’s Vice President, His Highness Dato Raja Aznil Hisham

6

GLOBAL EXPO IN PICTURES

The Minister , Honourable Bogolo J. Kenewendo with Mr. Vijay Kalayanaraman from Grant Thornton and Brastorne’s CEO, Mr. Martin Stimela at the Private Business Growth Awards.

The Vice President of the Republic of India, His Honour Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu officiating at the 2018 GEB Official Opening

Guest speakers at the Investment and Trade Conference. Founder and Executive of Young Women Business Network, Ms. Nthabeleng Likotsi giving a presentation at the Pan African Growth Trajectory Opportunity session.

Speakers at the Pan African Growth Trajectory Opportunity session.

Participants at the Investment and Trade Conference.


INVEST IN BOTSWANABotswana Wants to Make Your Investment Work for You

• We have no foreign exchange controls or restrictions on business ownership;

• Taxes are very low - 15% for corporations and 25% for individuals;

• We allow remittance and full repatriation of profits and dividends;

• We offer duty-free import of machinery and equipment for manufacturing purposes.

Botswana is Committed to Continued Growth

• We are consistently investing in new and improved core infrastructure such as power plants, fibre-optic networks, roads, railways and international banking institutions;

• We have been consistently rated as the least corrupt country in Africa by Transparency International;

• We have one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world;

• We provide investors with preferential access to the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) entire marketplace – over 292 million people.

EXPLORE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES• Financial and Business Services

• Transport and Logistics• Agriculture and Agro Processing• Manufacturing• Information Communication Technology• Energy and Renewable Energy• Automotive and Auto Component Manufacturing• Education and Health

• Mining and Mining Beneficiation

BOTSWANA ONE STOP SERVICE CENTRE (bossc)We are ready to facilitate your investment. Services provided to investors through BOSSC include:

• Companyandbusinessregistration• TradeandBusinesslicenseapplications• Entryvisas,workandresidencepermits• Workpermitexemptions• Connection of utilities e.g. power, telecommunications

and water• IncomeTaxandVATregistration• Accesstoindustrialandcommercialland• AllocationofBITCfactoryspace(subjecttoavailability)• EnvironmentalImpactAssessment(EIA)Compliance• Provision of information on the Botswana business

climate, regulatory regime and investment opportunities• OpeningaBankAccount• Providespecialistbusinessadvisoryservices.

BE A PART OF BOTSWANA’S PHENOMENAL GROWTH STORY

visit us at www.gobotswana.com

Contact us todayPrivate Bag 00445Gaborone

Plot 54351, off PG Matante RoadExponential BuildingCentral Business District (CBD)

T +267 363 3360F +267 3170452Email:[email protected]

8

The company intends to move its activities to Botswana

therefore it was concluded that there is need to form

an organization which will process Botswana medical

claims and utilize Botswana-based operations to process

and administer global operations. MTN Business has been

identified by Compsul as the key potential Internet Services

Provider (ISP) technical partner for their Botswana expansion.

MTN Business is currently doing a business case for Compsul

pertaining to their bandwidth needs.

Another initiative was the MERCOSUR also known as

Mercosul or Ñemby Ñemuha which is a South American Trade

Bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol

of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil,

Paraguay and Uruguay.

Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since

December 1, 2016. MERCUSOUR countries have established

a trade relationship with the Southern African Customs

Union (SACU) countries over the years including South Africa,

Namibia and Swaziland. The MERCOSUR delegation met with

BITC to discuss their business portfolio and further appreciate

the Botswana’s business climate as well as opportunities to

explore in the dairy sector. The Seminar was graced by the

Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of

Agriculture, Business Botswana, Clover Botswana, Parmalat

and some local dairy farmers.

The dairy sector is one of the most challenging sectors in

Botswana, currently there are three dairy cooperatives in

Botswana operating at a small scale with dairy cows ranging

from 1 – 50, Mmadinare Dairy Multipurpose Cooperative

Society, Pitsane Dairy Marketing Cooperative Society and

Thoba Dairy Producer Cooperative Society. Thoba Dairy

Producer Cooperative Society is in the process of being

established while the other two have ceased operation.

BITC is currently making the local cooperatives with the

Mercuso group to establish a capacity building relationship

and potential joint ventures with the South American and

Botswana based companies.

Mr Kabelo Kenneth Lebotse recently joined Botswana

Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) as head of the Legal

Department. He served as Acting Judge of the Hight Court

of Botswana until December 2017.

He was previously Senior Lecturer at the University of

Botswana in the Department of Law were he taught various

law subjects at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He

taught, amongst others, the Law of Contract, Commercial

laws, Advanced Company Law and Individual employment

law. He has also served as General Corporate Counsel and

Company Secretary at the Public Enterprises, Evaluation

and Privatisation Agency (PEEPA). He also worked for

the Botswana Examinations Council, heading the Legal

Department.

Mr. Lebotse holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), degree from

the University of Botswana and a Master of Laws (LLM),

degree from the University of London (London School of

Economics and Political Science). He has also done the Senior

Managers Development Programme with the University of

Stellenbosch. He undoubtedly brings a wealth of knowledge

and experience to BITC.

PROFILING OUR LEADERS:MR K.K LEBOTSE

BOTSWANA LURES GLOBAL INVESTORSBotswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) convened an

inward mission with Compensation Solutions (CompSol), a

South African Group of companies, which specializes in the

financing and administration of medical insurance claims and

medical practice management. Compsol is also responsible

for the development of the eCOIDA an online Workers

Compensation platform. While in Botswana, Compsol met

with the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC),

Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA), Botswana Fibre

Networks (BOFINET), Botswana Communications Regulatory

Authority (BOCRA), MTN Business, BancABC and Dimension

Data.

Minister of Investment Trade and Industry Bogolo Joy Kenewendo delivering a message during the CompSol seminar

Mr K.K Lebotse, Director Legal Services


Continues from page 6

When sharing the challenges faced by the dairy sector in

Botswana, Mr Otlhabanye highlighted the following: high

costs of feeds,lack of skilled manpower, lack of dairy related

technologie (modern dairy technology), lack of information

about the industry and poor technology adoption, lack of

proper infrastructure and market penetration.

Botswana also hosted the Swiss Delegation. The forum

primarily focused on Food Processing, Financial Services,

Information Communication Technology (ICT), Construction,

Energy and Manufacturing. Companies from both Botswana

and Switzerland were the main target for this mutual

business relationship between the two countries.

The Swiss company intends to import products from

Botswana such as food products, agro-processed products

and beef products. Another delegation that graced our

land was from Russia. They came to explore the business

prospects and gauge the market. The delegation indicated

specific interests in the mining sector and Bulk Breaking

– Pharmaceutical Drugs. The Selebi Phikwe Economic

Diversification Unit (SPEDU) introduced the delegation to the

ongoing project in the pharmaceutical space and the Russian

company that expressed interest to explore investment

opportunities in the sector was ushered to the project.

Furthermore, the Russian delegation indicated that they are

exploring the possibilities of starting a pharmaceutical bulk

breaking facility in Botswana to supply the SADC region.

Botswana continued to explore opportunities to diversify

the economy. As a strategic move to strengthen business

relations between Botswana and China in investment

His Excellency, Dr. Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi attended the Beijing Summit in China.

positioning and trading of goods, His Excellency, Dr.

Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi attended the Beijing Summit in

September. This was notably the first visit by the President

to China. The purpose of the visit was to further reinforce

the bilateral relations between the two governemnts. With

Botswana’s conducive economic conditions, this could

possibly lure more Chinese entrepreneurs to do business in

Botswana primarily on Infrastructure development, energy,

agribusiness, Information Communication TechnologyICT

and Trading. These are commendable initiatives for the

government of Botswana and BITC as the backbone of trade

dealings in Botswana.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a market access arrangement between the United States of America (USA) and Africa with broad objective of boosting exports from Sub-Saharan Africa to USA by eliminating tariff barriers on a large number of their exports. The current 10-year extension of AGOA is set to expire in September 2025.

This unilateral trade agreement provides duty free access

to the US market to over 6,400 product lines and 1,800 new

tariff line items in addition to the 4,600 The renewal through

the AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015 covers

the third countr e of law, political pluralism, and right to due

process; elimination of barriers to U.S. trade and investment;

economic policies to reduce poverty; a system to combat

bribery and corruption; and protection of internationally

recognized worker rights items enjoying duty-free status on

the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

THE USA AS AN EXPORT MARKET

The United States is one the world’s largest importing

countries. US importers are always looking for new products

to import and resale. According to the US Department of

Commerce, US Imports were $2,895.3 billion in 2017, up $182.5

billion from 2016. Imports of goods increased $153.2 billion

OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH AGOA

10

to $2,361.5 billion whilst those of services increased $29.2

billion to $533.9 billion in 2017. The top US imports include

motor vehicles, crude oil, cellphones, computer chips,

gasoline, motor vehicle parts, medicines and commercial

vehicles.

Since 2010, textiles/apparel has been Botswana’s main AGOA

beneficiary sector, constituting between 90-100% of total

AGOA exports. During its peak, Botswana had over 10 textile/

apparel firms exporting under AGOA. In 2017 Botswana

total exports to USA were P775.6 million, of which AGOA

exports accounted for P9.9 million. Diamonds account for

over 95% of total exports to the US. Currently Botswana

does not have a single company that is benefitting from the

AGOA preference. Of the over 10 textile/apparel firms that

operated from Botswana, some companies have shifted

focus towards South Africa while some have relocated with

others having closed down. The National AGOA response

strategy is an effort by government to ramp up exports into

the US market.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF AGOA FOR BOTSWANA

Potential benefits for Botswana from the AGOA unilateral

trade preference program include:

1. Tariff advantage: Exports from Botswana have a

significant tariff advantage over those from non-AGOA

eligible countries, making Botswana products more

competitive, e.g. some tariffs exemptions in the textiles/

apparel sector under AGOA are as high as 30%.

2. Wide range of eligible products: The AGOA Extension

offers an increased range of eligible products (over

6,400 products lines) which allows a more diversified

exports to U.S. by Botswana.

3. Opportunity for regional integration: AGOA facility

provides an opportunity to create regional integration

through the development of value chains, production

sharing and collaboration to meet volumes required

by the US market and for pitching the region as one big

market.

4. Capacity building of associations and institutions: Local

institutions will build their capacity and strengthen

their process through technical assistance and technical

capacity building provided by the various U.S. support

agencies such as the regional trade and investment

hubs and others whose mandate is to provide technical

assistance in AGOA beneficiary countries to facilitate

increased utilization of the program.

5. Promotion of women in social and economic

development: The AGOA Extension and Enhancement

Act, encourages the promotion of women in social

and economic development. Increased participation

of women in labour will help increase the quantity and

quality of available labour for industries involved in

international trade.

6. Job creation: AGOA has been credited with the creation of

over 300,000 jobs in Sub Saharan Africa since its inception

hence increased utilization of AGOA by Botswana will

result in more job opportunities for Batswana.

7. Long term relationships: Local companies that utilize

AGOA will be exposed to the US market and create

strategic alliances and other relationships with their US

counterparts, which might continue after the expiry of

the AGOA facility.

8. Giving local companies international exposure:

Participation in the US market under AGOA gives

companies the much-needed experience for entering

other international markets.

In the next issue, BITC will discuss what Botswana companies can export under AGOA and how they can register for AGOA. For more information on AGOA, logo onto www.usaid.org.

INTRODUCING A BITC ASSISTED COMPANY: MANEBLOCKS HOLDINGS Maneblocks Holdings (Pty) Ltd trades as Family Pride and

has been in business since 1998. The Company acquired

Tsetsebjwe Mills from A&N Enterprises in 2005 to grow

the business. It manufactures sorghum meal from milling

raw sorghum and also licensed for general food supply and

other agricultural products. Maneblocks Holdings is based in

Tsetsebjwe, in the Bobirwa Sub District, 80km east of Selebi-

Phikwe in the Central District.

Tsetsebjwe Mills started business in 1998 as a small-scale

operation funded through the Financial Assistance Policy

(FAP). A & N Enterprises (Pty) Ltd is a joint venture partnership

between Mr. Modise Jeremiah and Mr. Motsumi Dikgang.

In 2005, Peo Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary company of

Debswana got interested in the business and approached the

owners of Tsetsebjwe Mills to provide them with financial

assistance as well as equity.




This gave birth to Maneblocks Holdings (Pty) Limited which has the objectives of: • Becominganationwidesupplierofsorghummeal.• Being a reputable supplier of general food stuff to

government and other customers• GeneratingaReturnonInvestmentofatleast35%every

year

The company’s Vision and Mission are: • VISION: To ensure that all its products reach every table of

households in Botswana.

• MISSION: Family Pride exists to provide a reliable source

of nourishment to the people of Botswana.

The company values are: • Commitment• Sustainableapproach• Honesty• Efficiency

Maneblocks engaged the services of a sole agent to distribute its products to the customers in 2006. Under this model, all finished products were transported to the agent who in turn would distribute to Maneblocks’ customers. The agent was paid a commission of thirteen percent (13%) of sales. Major challenges and hurdles were encountered through this model. Of major impact was mishandling and distribution of product to customers both in terms of timely distribution and physical handling of the product. The commission also proved to be a major financial drain to the Company. By end of the financial year, Maneblocks recorded an operating loss of P729,525 with gross profit margin of only 3.6%.

In 2007, the Directors decided to change the distribution model of using an agent as it was not sustainable. Under the new model, the product was distributed directly to Maneblocks customers. The company’s performance immediately improved as the gross profit margin improved from a mere 3.6% to 14.7% in 2007 operating results. The performance continued to improve in 2008 with the gross

profit margin reaching a sustainable level of 19%.

The investment by Peo Venture Capital into the company was always subject to an exit strategy which was exercised by Mr. Jeremiah in 2010 by buying Peo out. The buy-out was financed by the Citizen Entreprenuership Development

Agency (CEDA) to the tune of P3, 600, 000.

The Company has experienced growth in business serving customers all over the country with deliveries as far as the North West District and Gaborone. The following are among

our satisfied customers;

• Food Relief Services (Selebi Phikwe) - BotswanaGovernment,

• EurekaWholesalers/TridentHoldings,• SefalanaCashandCarrywholesalers,• WelcomeCashandCarry,• CustodyInvestments,• Thusowholesaler,• Pick‘nPayRetailStores,• ShoppersSuperStores;and

• ChoppiesChainStores

The company has over the years been dealing with various suppliers for its stock within and outside the country. Local raw sorghum grain suppliers are individual Pandamatenga farmers (Chandia farm, H.S. LE Roux, Access Holdings, Panda Agric Development, and East Ford farm) and the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB). External sorghum grain suppliers are Saltcom Commodity traders, a division Premium Brand Distributors (Pty) Ltd and Protein Feeds Services (Pty) Ltd. Packaging materials are sourced from local suppliers

being Plastic Mart.

In support of this, the Company is committed to: • Generateanacceptablereturnonshareholders’

investment; • Provideemployeeswithsecuremeansofliving;• Providingcustomerswithareliablebasketfornatural

foods; and • BecomingasignificantpartnerwithBotswana

Government in its food security endeavors in Botswana.

The keys to success for the business are as follows: • Producehighqualityconsistentproducts• Maintainatechnologicallyadvancedplant• Maintain adequate working capital for procuring raw

sorghum.

PRODUCTS PROVIDED• 2,5–10kgsorghumpackedinplasticbags• 25-50kgsorghumpackedinpolypropylenebags• Branpackedin50kgpolypropylenebags

SERVICES PROVIDEDThe company is also licensed for the following;• GeneralFoodSupplies• Supplyofspeciallypackagedfood• Supplyoffoodsupplements• Supplyofprocessedfood

ACHIEVEMENTS & STRENGTHS• Well known brand - Family Pride has been in the market

for a period of over 17 years; since its inception in 1998. The brand has grown significantly over the period and it is now well established and well known in the market.

• House brands – One of our customers, Eureka / Trident has entered into a contract with us to produce and supply them with their house brand product known in the market as Econo. This has effectively boosted our relations with them and they have continued buying our product as well. We are also doing the same to Welcome Cash & Carry and their brand name is Mmelegi. These two (2) house brand products are vital to the success of the business.

• Excellent suppliers’ relations - The company enjoys excellent relations with its suppliers of raw sorghum due to its good track record. This ensures that the company has very minimal risk of lacking raw material for its production.

• Management experience - The Managing Director of the company is experienced, well known and has built an excellent track record especially in the sorghum milling industry in Botswana.

• Transport - The company has its own transport and that of its sister company dedicated to the transportation of raw material and finished products thus enabling timely delivery of goods to customers.

BOTSWANA IS A MODERN, ATTRACTIVE COUNTRY TO LIVE AND WORK IN. SO COME EXPLORE, EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY BOTSWANA

Botswana is a modern, attractive country to live and work in. So come explore, experience and enjoy Botswana.

COME TOBOTSWANA for a unique African Experience

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@OfficialBrandBW

@BrandBotswana

Brand Botswana

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www.gobotswana.com

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