Botswana Oil Limited said it has significantly increased local participation in the oil industry, with citizen ownership of fuel transport trucks significantly increasing. This was highlighted by Botswana Oil Limited Senior Manager – Commercial, Thabo Simon at the recently held National Business Conference, where he was speaking on “Enhancing Private Sector Growth Through Value Chain Development”.
Simon highlighted the historical barriers that local entrepreneurs in this sector have faced and explained how the company has worked to address these challenges.
“For many years, there was a huge barrier to entry in the oil industry. Citizens were not able to participate in the fuel industry value chain in Botswana,” he stated.
According to Simon, the sector was previously dominated by a few multinational corporations, leaving little opportunity for local businesses. Botswana Oil was established to change this by promoting greater Batswana participation in the industry. A major milestone highlighted by Simon is the significant rise in citizen-owned fuel trucking operations.
“Before BOL, less than 3 percent of Batswana were in the fuel trucking business. Today, 10 years since Botswana Oil was formed, the number has risen to 25 percent. Of the 400 trucks transporting fuel, 116 are now owned by Batswana,” he said.
Simon also highlighted Botswana Oil’s role in negotiating with SASOL, a key fuel supplier, to enable local entrepreneurs to purchase fuel directly. Initially, local businesses struggled with entry barriers, including the lack of capacity required by refineries.
To address these obstacles, Botswana Oil has been instrumental in enhancing capacity building for citizens through providing training and securing funding through commercial banks.
According to him, the company’s efforts extend beyond just opening doors for local participation. Botswana Oil consistently engages with citizen-owned companies to ensure they understand the industry dynamics and operate efficiently. “Botswana Oil constantly engages citizen companies to ensure that there is continual engagement to understand what the industry is about and making sure that things are done well,” he added.
