Local and international manufacturers are set to showcase their potential at the inaugural exhibition slated for July 20 to 22, 2017 in the capital Gaborone.
The exhibition, dubbed “Made in Botswana” is an initiative aimed at assisting manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and industry affiliates in Botswana and the rest of the world to discover the boundless possibilities arising from investing and doing business within Botswana.
Spokesperson of Made in Botswana Exhibition Fred Maunze said the exhibition would position itself as one of the must-attend trade exhibition events in Africa.
“Targeted to host more than 100 international and regional brands, this three-day exhibition aims to unveil and showcase the latest manufacturing and business opportunities to help improve sales and productivity across all sectors,” said Maunze.
He says the initiative expects to attract over 5 000 international and regional visitors, a platform for buyers and sellers to meet potential business partners.
“Most visitors and exhibitors to the event represent or work for businesses that generate between USD$250 000 to over USD$1 billion a year in sales, a great target audience for manufacture and distributions consumer products,” he continued.
Maunze said the event would feature workshops and seminars facilitated by organisations such as Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS).
“The side events will cover topics such as tax, import, export and trade incentives,” said Maunze. He said they were ongoing dialogues with European Chamber of Commerce to educate those attending the exhibition on how to export goods made in Botswana to the European markets.
“They will shed some light on the existing Economic Partnership Agreement between Botswana and the United Kingdom,” said Maunze. He said the idea is to sensitise entrepreneurs in Botswana and beyond on issues of cross border trade.
Entry to the exhibition was free and for the time spent at it individuals can expect to get a wealth of knowledge about the manufacturing industry in the region.
“We are creating a platform which allows existing manufacturers and people interested in manufacturing to identify the existing systems in place as well as gaps in the market for business opportunities,” said Maunze.
He said it should not be taken for granted that Botswana has great potential when it comes to the manufacturing industry as there is good access to funding. There is still vast available land which makes it the land of opportunity in any industry,” he said.
The youth says Maunze can benefit a lot from the exhibition from the mere presence of CEDA and LEA. “Such organisations will be there to address the challenges that young people face in the manufacturing industry. CEDA has actually bought 10 stalls for the youth businesses that they have funded so that other young people can come and interact with them and share knowledge and experiences through the networking opportunity,” said Maunze.
He advised the youth to come out in their numbers to benefit from the event as he trusts it would open up opportunities for them
