25th February 2022
Own Correspondent
The Botswana Investment and Trade Centre(BITC) revealed that it launched the PushaBW Roadshow as most retailers are not aware of what is readily available while on the other hand, some local producers are not aware of the requirements and others struggle to meet those requirements for listing.
These requirements include amongst others, meeting certain quality standards, consistent and continuous supply as well as competitive pricing
“The primary objective of the #PushaBW initiative is to reduce the import bill, which is currently over P85 billion, through uptake of locally produced goods and services. This is a very significant deliverable of my Ministry mandate. 2. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the #PushaBW initiative was launched in 2018, as a campaign to persuade Batswana and all residents of this country to make conscious decisions to buy locally produced goods and services,” said Mabuse Pule, Acting Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry at the PushaBW roadshow launch at Travel Lodge.
He said, “The campaign further aimed at improving the production capacity of local producers, which directly contributes towards creation of more job opportunities and economic diversification. 3. I am reliably informed that this Roadshow, which aims at building capacity of our local producers and service providers, is a partnership between Botswana Investment and Trade Center (BITC), Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and the retailers such as, Woolworths, Sefalana, Fours, Trans Africa, Choppies, Squaremart and Pick n’ Pay.”
He said, “It is therefore, highly expected that through this collaboration, challenges faced by local producers and service providers will be addressed, particularly those relating to market access for their products and services.”
According to officials Government put in place the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP) in 2020 in response to measures towards COVID-19 pandemic. One of the key deliverables for the Plan is SME Development, which this Roadshow aims to achieve. Through the ERTP, Government has further set aside nine hundred and fifty million pula (P950 million) towards SME development.
The effects of this events should translate into tangible results as we see more and more local products on store shelves and a steady growth of our local producers and service providers.
“Your products must target international markets before they reach the local market. This means that your product labelling, packaging and coding should be precise, more especially that the Roadshow Team has all the expertise to assist you reach international standards,” said Pule.
Retailers have been urged to continue to find more ways to engage with local producers. Come up with Supplier Development Programmes to enhance their capacity, improve their reliability and further avail shelf space within your stores for their products. Closure of the gap between international and local
The #PushaBW initiative will continue to be further supported through other initiatives with similar objective such as Botswana Exporter Development Programme (BEDP), the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), the SME Incubation Programme under Local Enterprise Authority.
According to officials PushaBW Campaign was launched in 2018, as a marketing initiative with an ambitious objective of driving a national paradigm shift towards the uptake of local products, to create employment and grow our national economy.
The Campaign intends to create more consumption in local products, in turn creating demand for more, which then triggers the need for an increase in production, resultant in growth and employment creation
Keletsositse Olebile, Botswana Investment and Trade Centre(BITC) Chief Executive Officer(CEO), said “The Campaign targets three main key players being the producer, retailer and the consumer; to improve the quality of local products for producers, have more of these products in the shelves of local stores, and for the consumer to consciously choose to buy the products.”
He said, “The retailers in partnership with BITC will be travelling across the country to engage local producers in an effort to bridge the gaps that have been identified with the requirements especially quality of their products, to list in these stores; the retailers participating are Sefalana, Trans Cash and Carry, Choppies, Fours, Woolworths, Pay Less, Pick ‘n Pay and Square Mart. Other partners in this Roadshow are Fairgrounds Holdings, CEDA and LEA.”
