Dr Pelotshweu Moepeng, a Research Fellow at the Botswana Institute of Development and Policy Agency (BIDPA) has advised Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) members to exploit opportunities in Francistown to their benefit.
During a conference convened by BOCCIM to review the recent budget allocation, Dr Moepeng told the participants that it is high time that the organisation takes advantage of the available opportunities within Francistown, which includes tourism, construction and mining and agriculture as they can bring out fortune and help in the diversification of the economy.
“I want to advise BOCCIM to take advantage of the available opportunities within Francistown, such as the by- products from the mines, tourism, and the construction industry,” he said.
Moepeng went further to establish that with the mining industry being in the vicinity of Francistown, there is a high chance of BOCCIM members venturing into property development as there is high demand of houses for rentals.
He added that there is need by the business community to look further into opportunities like supplying the mines with equipment, which is normally done by foreign companies.
Among other opportunities, Dr Moepeng went on to point out that Francistown also has some natural rivers, which can support Agricultural projects and the BOCCIM members could take advantage of that.
“Francistown is blessed with many natural rivers and this is an opportunity for the business community here to look further into venturing into opportunities like Agriculture,” he stipulated.
He went further to praise the tourism sector of Francistown, saying that last year the industry performed very well, adding that it is one industry that has been doing very well and encouraged the disadvantaged parts of the community, such as the women, to venture into that as it does not need much expertise to run businesses like hospitality business.
He revealed that Francistown benefits from much on corporate tourism as many businessmen come to the city to visit, hold business meetings and tour the city and the surroundings.
“Cultural activities, such as the Domboshaba Festivals, have boosted the city’s tourism image,” he added.
Moepeng also mentioned that tourism has the potential to alleviate poverty in Francistown as there will be plenty of jobs for the locals; he added that it has the potential to link with Agriculture as farmers can also sell their produce to hotels.
Touching on the construction industry, he stated that a budget of P10.77 billion was allocated for Francistown to upgrade and build some infrastructure in the city between 2011and 2012, which BOCCIM members can look to for opportunities.
