The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) says it has successfully facilitated the first session of the BSE Tshipidi Mentorship Program (TMP) on 25th May 2021 at the BSE offices in Fairgrounds.
From the sixty-five (65) received applications, the BSE, due to capacity considerations from health restrictions governing the COVID-19 pandemic, were able to shortlist thirteen (13) companies for this year’s enrolment. These companies represent a wide array of sectors including hospitality, energy, security, financial services and property, to name but a few.
The TMP is a strategic initiative that was first introduced in 2019 as a means to groom companies that could potentially raise capital, improve governance and leverage from increased publicity through the stock market in the short to medium term.
The underlying objective of the Program is to provide practical training through a comprehensive and interactive program that covers the key themes necessary to prepare and position a company to list on the BSE.
As with the previous instalment, this year’s TMP will focus on corporatization, capital structure, financial reporting, commercial law, listing requirements and corporate governance. As such, the Program will run until July, with session 2 & 3 expected to be held on 22nd June & 27th July, respectively.
Commenting at the end of session 1 of the BSE TMP, the BSE CEO, Thapelo Tsheole said, “As a strategy to support SME access to finance and attract listings, the BSE has resolved to set up a mentorship program to assist potential issuers to strategize, corporatize and acclimatize in order to ultimately list on the BSE. Since inception, this Program has grown in popularity as many business owners seek to capacitate themselves with key learnings necessary to position their companies to raise capital through the public market. In due time, we hope to reap the rewards of this exercise by paving the way for more issuances in our local capital markets, and thus, contribute towards the development of Botswana’s private sector.”
