- Debswana sets aside P4m for textile SMMEs
- Selected SMMEs to supply protective to mines
- Debswana spends P10m a year on protective clothing
In collaboration with the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Tokafala Enterprise Development Programme (TED) and Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS), Debswana Diamond Company has launched a special initiative for SMMEs in the textile sector.
Called Textile Accelerator Programme (TAP), the initiative is geared at empowering the SMMEs to produce Personal Protective Clothing, uniforms, curtains, apparel products and other textile. Tokafala is a critical partner in the enterprise development offering mentorship and advisory support free of charge to committed entrepreneurs.
The aim is to build the capacity of SMMEs to enable them to participate in public and private sector supply chains. Under TAP, participating SMMEs will access expansion funding in order for them to meet the demands of the PPE market in mining and other sectors of the economy. Debswana has pledged P4 million for the purchase of textile machinery for qualifying SMMEs participating in the project. This is a lucrative opportunity because Debswana says it spends over P10 million annually on procuring PPEs.
Thirty-four entities have been selected from manufacturing, branding and embroidery companies to benefit under the tripartite partnership. Most of the enterprises are from vulnerable and disadvantaged populations such as women, youth and people with disabilities.
Speaking at the launch of the Textile Accelerator Programme, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mmusi Kgafela, said the initiative is in line with a clarion call from the government for private companies to partner with public entities for lifting Batswana out of poverty. He applauded Debswana for this “example of good Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that can be adopted by private companies across the country”.
Mmusi emphasised that real economic growth at the national level depends on expanding the SMME sector and that the challenge of unemployment, especially among the youth, can be curbed rapidly through the growth of SMMEs.
