Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) is keen to find ways of uplifting the informal sector by continuously seeking initiatives that are beneficial to Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs), the company’s CEO, Meshack Tshekedi, has said.
“After careful consideration, we decided to engage the Gaborone City Council and tell them of our plan to donate to Bagwebi ba ba Botlana (small entrepreneurs) in the Central Business District (CBD) and it was then that we came to know of their Thusanang Bagwebi Support Group,” Tshekedi said, adding that support for SMMEs has become a part his company’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
Tshekedi explained that BOL will continue its partnership with GCC for improving the conditions of street vendors because they are an integral part of society. In response, the Deputy Mayor of Gaborone, Lotty Manyepedza, said BOL’s help is coming at the right time because COVID-19 has affected many small businesses when the municipality has had to make budget cuts caused by the pandemic.
Speaking on behalf of Thusanang Bagwebi, Omphemetse Setlhare thanked BOL for giving them umbrellas and table cloths. Setlhare noted that small traders are always trying to help the city council by making sure that their surroundings are kept clean. He said they are grateful that they are allowed to trade in the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.
