Mascom launches private sector forum for children
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday August 11, 2025 11:20
Speaking at the launch of the Forum in partnership with UNICEF in Gaborone recently, Mascom CEO, Dzene Makhwade- Seboni said it was a milestone in their shared journey toward building a Botswana where every child could thrive.She noted that UNICEF and select businesses based in Botswana worked diligently to perfect a model, that could allow them, as private sector leaders to engage in a meaningful, structured way and to hold themselves accountable for their contributions to child well being.
“The forum represents a platform built not on sentiment, but on strategy. Not on goodwill alone, but on goals that are measurable, sustainable and transformative.
“We recognise that investing in children is not charity but it is visionary business practice,” Makhwade- Seboni said.
She continued, “Communities prosper when children are safe, educated and empowered. And businesses flourish when they operate in stable, thriving societies. Child-focused investment strengthens our future talent pools, reinforces community trust, enhances brand equity and contributes directly to market resilience.”
Furthermore, the CEO pointed out that the forum has been established to catalyse and coordinate such efforts.
She explained that its objectives include embedding child rights into the heart of corporate governance, strategy and reporting; mobilising and aligning private sector resources with national child development priorities; creating spaces for innovation, knowledge exchange and collective problem solving.
It also includes advocating for policies and environments that enable responsible practices towards children.
Moreover, she emphasised that the road ahead would require bold leadership, shared responsibilities and willingness to reimagine the role of business in society.
The corporate leader added that it invites the leaders to build not only profitable enterprises but also prosperous futures for the children of Botswana.
Speaking at the same event, Vice President, Ndaba Gaolathe said the launch of the forum marked the point where intent becomes action, where values meet investment and where their shared duty to protect the future of Botswana’s children became formalised into a lasting partnership.
He added that currently, more than 36% of the country’s population is less than 18 years of age. Gaolathe said if leaders fail their children, they fail their country as well.
“If we protect, nurture and empower them, there is nothing Botswana cannot achieve. The data call us to account. Child mortality remains high, with 31 infants and 39 children lost for every 1,000 births. Malnutrition, exacerbated by climate change and inequality is on the rise,” the VP said.
“In 2024 alone, over 2,300 cases of rape and defilement against girls were reported. These are not just statistics. They are stories of promise disrupted, of future cut short. And they challenge us, not only as policymakers but as business leaders, parents and citizens.”
Additionally, the VP applauded the courage and foresight of the 11 founding members of the CEO Forum for Child Rights, who together pledged P13 million towards innovative, targeted interventions for child wellbeing in 2025/26.
He explained that the forum was more than a funding mechanism but a structure platform for dialogue, action and accountability, where leaders from banking, mining, telecommunications, tourism and other sectors could influence workplace policies, community investments and national outcomes in ways that improve children’s lives.
Giving her remarks, the Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Nono Kgafela- Mokoka said children in Botswana represented one third of the population and thus added that over half of their people were under the age of 25.
She added that they were not just the future but also the present whose lives required their immediate attention.
“Nearly half of our children live in multi-dimensional poverty. 70% lack access to adequate sanitation, a fundamental determinant health. 39% are deprived of both decent housing and essential healthcare. Stunting continues to affect nearly one to five children under the age of five, with lifelong consequences. Less than 50% of our youngest learners have access to early learning and stimulation. Distressingly, only 10% of children who suffer abuse are able to access any form of assistance. Our under-five mortality rate remains high at 56 per 1,000 live births and maternal mortality persists at 240 per 100, 000. ”
She said that was not numbers in a policy brief but stories of pain, potential unmet and lives curtailed before they ever had a fair chance. She added that the government did not take that lightly and had adopted a deliberate rights-based approach to child development, one that recognised children not as passive recipients of charity, but as rightful stakeholders in their national development trajectory.