Botswana’s Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) has unveiled an association for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMMEs) within the government’s bid to boost the sector.

The principal aim of the association is to bolster skills training and improve capital sourcing and technical assistance for these businesses.

During the launch, entrepreneurship minister Karabo Gare recognised the importance of SMMEs in terms of economic growth and job creation. He went on to say that setting up supportive mechanisms that boost the role of SMMEs within the economy is essential to strengthening private-sector partnerships in the country.

“A study by BIDPA has indicated that SMMEs contribute up to 75% of private sector employment in Botswana and 20% of national output; however, an enduring concern is that we have failed to diversify our economy from depending on mining and mineral processing,” the minister stated.

In addition, the deputy director of the Department of Co-operatives in the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Boitumelo Makunya, said government efforts have helped small businesses to grow and flourish in the past. The director referred to the import ban on a selection of agricultural produce as a chance to boost local entrepreneurs over the value chain: “During March, we experienced a 50% decline in our imports of fruits and vegetables because of the ban, credit being to government efforts for empowering local producers,” Makunya commented.

Nevertheless, the success of the import ban by solely focusing on import values has been questioned by some analysts as this may not always show greater local capacity. 

Makunya added that other stakeholders were not getting involved in efforts to bolster local businesses. She said commercial banks need to create new instruments to assist local smallholder farmers, as well as other SMMEs, Mmegi Online reports.

“Despite assistance given by the government through various schemes, the lack of access to finance remains one of the main key constraints of SME development in Botswana,” Makunya continued, adding that an improvement to credit access for SMMEs in the country will only occur with commercial banks’ support.