The annual Women Exposition has been hailed as making strides in curtailing poverty amongst women in small to medium enterprises.
The Expo aims to, among others, offer women entrepreneurs and opportunity to share skills, ideas and experiences as well as offer national exposure to women’s businesses.
“Through these expositions, women who have been participating have been helped to step out of poverty and have their businesses running,” said Osesenaqa Lekgoko, the Assistant Communications manager at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs.
Speaking ahead of the 13th Women Annual Expo, Lekgoko said previous participants have benefited from the expo.
“The benefits are visible and can be attested to by the fact that some entrepreneurs graduated from micro-levels across a range of businesses to international standards and have participated at global exposition levels,” she said.
Lekgoko, who called the expo an important landmark in her ministry’s calendar, said the show is one of the strategies adopted to reduce poverty among women in Botswana and “to address disparities that exist between women and men in trade and economic sphere”.
Women entrepreneurs participating this year will also attend a Business Investment Forum that has been organized to equip them with business enhancement information. She said the high number of exhibitors participating this year demonstrates the significant growth the expo has experienced over the last 13 years. 
Lekgoko said that this year’s 200 exhibitors are a tremendous improvement from the 70 who exhibited in 2000 said Lekgoko.
The expo is expected to offer Women Community Organizations, groups and individuals an opportunity to exchange experiences, ideas and skills related to their products and businesses, in addition to providing an opportunity to forge links, create partnerships and networking among women entrepreneurs.
The theme for this year’s show is ““Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Key to Sustainable Economic Development.”
The expo is expected to expose women to new products from other regions in the country through demonstrations, and equip them with knowledge on how to produce and diversify using locally available materials and resources.
The Exposition, which will run from 29th – 30th June 2012 brings women groups under one roof to showcase their talents.
