Morupule Coal Mine (MCM) says it has directed more than P1.3 billion to citizen-owned businesses under its Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) since 2022, as the miner steps up efforts to use procurement to deepen local participation in Botswana’s mining sector.
The company said the programme has supported more than 2,550 jobs across the mining value chain and forms part of a broader localisation and supplier development strategy aimed at integrating citizen-owned firms into mining-linked business activity.
Speaking at the Future of Mining Summit, MCM Chief Executive Officer Edwin Elias said the initiative reflected the company’s view that mining should generate measurable national value beyond extraction.
“Mining, when done with purpose and accountability, is one of the most powerful development tools a nation possesses,” Elias said.
He said MCM had set an internal target of about P1.5 billion in procurement spend for citizen-owned enterprises and had so far reached around P1.3 billion. The spending has supported local firms involved in transport, bulk coal logistics and operational support services, he said.
Elias said company-level initiatives alone would not be enough to drive lasting transformation, adding that stronger alignment was needed between government policy, industry practice and enterprise development systems.
He said the mining sector was moving beyond a narrow focus on production, with companies increasingly shaping their strategies around beneficiation, exploration commitments and citizen participation in a bid to strengthen mining’s contribution to long-term national development.
Also speaking at the summit, MCM CEEP Coordinator Tirelo Ramasedi said the programme was built on the principle that small, medium and micro enterprises should be placed at the centre of citizen economic empowerment rather than remain at the edges of mining supply chains.
Ramasedi said SMMEs account for much of Botswana’s formal and informal business activity and are therefore critical to job creation, industrial diversification and value addition in mining.
She said the programme recognised that smaller businesses operate under different conditions and was structured to support both necessity-driven enterprises responding to unemployment and growth-oriented firms with the potential to scale.
A key part of the programme has been the localisation of mining logistics, particularly bulk coal transport, where citizen-owned firms have been integrated into core operations. Ramasedi said the bulk coal transport initiative had generated more than P70 million in business opportunities for citizen-owned operators since 2023, with local firms now accounting for more than 80 percent of coal haulage linked to MCM’s operations.
MCM has also sought to expand citizen participation in underground and surface mining through joint ventures and contract mining arrangements. Ramasedi cited the appointment of citizen-owned firm Bothakga Burrow as one of the first contract mining operators in Botswana’s mining history, describing it as a shift toward direct participation by local firms in core mining activities rather than subcontracted support work.
She said the programme reflected a broader move away from procurement compliance toward economic transformation, with mining expected to support manufacturing linkages, industry development and wider value creation.
Ramasedi said the next phase would need to focus on helping citizen-owned firms grow beyond micro and small business status into medium-sized operators able to compete regionally, including in the Southern African market.
She said that would require a broader ecosystem approach involving government, industry and development partners, as well as closer alignment between environmental, social and governance priorities and socio-economic outcomes in mining communities.
Ramasedi added that supplier development under CEEP was intended to help citizen-owned firms expand beyond Botswana into the wider Southern African Development Community market. To support that, MCM has partnered with institutions including the United Nations Development Programme and UN Women, alongside other organisations focused on enterprise growth and inclusion.
She said access to finance remained a major constraint for supplier growth, and pointed to the role of commercial and development partners such as Absa Bank Botswana in supporting enterprise development through financing and structured supplier programmes.
