BOCCIM to transform into Apex body

| Wednesday June 25, 2014 06:59

The workshop was aimed at engaging members of BOCCIM on the findings and recommendations of the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS), to establish BOCCIM as an Apex body.

The PSDP is an initiative by the government with the support of the European Union and the Centre for Development of Enterprise.

Presenting on the implications of transforming BOCCIM into an Apex body was the general manager of the Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce and consultant on the PSDS, Wouter Van Gulck. 

“As an Apex body BOCCIM will not have individual companies as members, but will have sector and regional associations as members instead. BOCCIM’s role will be to facilitate collaborative advocacy and capacity building as well as to provide support services to companies through the associations they subscribe to,” he explained.

“In 2008, BOCCIM developed a national process involving government and the private sector, The PSDP, which was to be the roadmap for the growth and development of the private sector. This programme formed an important part of the NDP 10 through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and was fortunate enough to be funded by the European Union through the European Development Fund,” explained the CEO of BOCCIM Maria Machailo-Ellis at the workshop, when providing background on the initiative.

Led by the BOCCIM president Lekwalo Mosienyane, the delegates took part in discussions around the proposed naming, organisational structure, terms of reference and action items, as they unanimously agreed with the recommendation of the strategy to turn BOCCIM into an Apex body. The members also put forward their thoughts on the current challenges within BOCCIM as well as measures to mitigate these as the organisation turns a new leaf.

“We are quite excited at both the turnout and the result of this workshop, as it demonstrates the goodwill that exists within BOCCIM and within the greater public sector. It is quite a milestone for the delegates to have put a collective seal of approval on the strategy and its recommendations, and with its implementation starts the hard work. I do believe that turning BOCCIM into an Apex body will make it more efficient and allow us to lobby for greater industry roles and national portfolios. This will yield better results for our private sector and subsequently for the economy of Botswana,” said Mosienyane.