Création Botswana sends eight designers to France
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday October 3, 2025 06:00
Recently, Création Botswana hosted a Bon Voyage celebration at Alliance Française de Gaborone to honour the eight designers from cohort 2. The cohort are: Botho Chalebgwa, Candida Montsho, Boikanyo Molale, Sabine Matsheka, Moitshepi Mokaila, Gomotsegang Dipuo, Mboko Basiami, and Gaekgone Lesego. They are expected to spend one week in Paris and another in Montpellier engaging in industry immersion, market exposure, and showcase opportunities designed to accelerate brand growth.
Speaking at the celebration, the French Ambassador to Botswana, Valérie Baraban underscored France’s continued commitment to meaningful cultural collaboration, and her strong support for the Alliance Française de Gaborone. She stated that fashion could contribute to boosting the country's economy. Furthermore, she said that fashion could link Botswana to the world. The Ambassador encouraged the designers to go and not only learn but also show the rest of the world their talent.
For her part, the newly appointed Director of Alliance Française de Gaborone, Anne-Charlotte Monneret, reaffirmed the institution's long-standing dedication to supporting Création Botswana and the country’s cultural and creative industries through the France Learning Expedition. She said the designers' two-week Learning Expedition would be coordinated by France coordination partner, Halle Tropisme. She explained that the learning expedition was split between Paris and Montpellier. In Paris, she said the cohort would immerse themselves in Paris Fashion Week and undertake targeted studio and concept-store visits.
'The week also features a pop-up market hosted by Marché Noir, offering direct audience engagement and real-time product feedback.The second week unfolds in Montpellier where the schedule includes fittings, technical run-throughs, and a fashion show night dedicated to showcasing Botswana’s talent before French audiences, buyers, and press. Designers will also participate in focused professional sessions on pricing, brand narrative, export readiness, and sustainable production, alongside curated networking to deepen links with industry stakeholders across both cities,' she said.
Création Botswana is a fashion entrepreneurship programme that is redefining the local fashion landscape through international collaboration, capacity building, and market development. Supported by the French Embassy in Botswana and coordinated by the National Arts Council of Botswana and Alliance Française de Gaborone, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by France and Botswana to invest in creative industries as vehicles for sustainable development and economic diversification.
At the heart of Création Botswana were monthly workshops for the participants which included monthly masterclasses that were open to the public. The workshops were designed to provide emerging and established fashion entrepreneurs with hands-on training from global experts. Each workshop was curated to offer insight into key areas of fashion business development from design and retail to storytelling, branding, and global expansion.
One of the designers, Mokaila who is the founder of Decisive said she does fashion and costumes clothing. She added that the opportunity to go to Paris was a reaffirmation of her journey as a fashion designer. She added that in her seven years as a fashion designer, she always dreamt of going to Paris adding that there was a lot she was willing to learn from the journey whilst also showcasing her skills and selling local fashion abroad.