Over 400 delegates expected at BOCCIM conference
Keikantse Lesemela | Wednesday October 15, 2014 16:01
Traditionally held in Francistown, this year’s event will be held in Maun for the first time since inception in 1998. The event is expected to take place from 23 to 26 November.
Briefing the media yesterday, BOCCIM Director for Policy Advocacy, Dichaba Molobe, said the conference would bring together private sector and government stakeholders to discuss economic issues in the country and formulate ideas on how to assist local businesses penetrate the international market.
“This event will be attended by top government and business leaders to formulate new ideas for making Botswana’s companies internationally competitive,” he said.
He said that the topics to be covered include developments in the beef, diamond and tourism sector. He added that the private sector needed to open up to the international market and become more competitive.
Molobe noted that the country’s productivity is very low compared to other countries hence top of the agenda would be addressing issues that factorise this.
“The country is not competitive as it has been rated in the lowest position on the ease of doing business. This conference is going to cover these issues and find alternative ways to enable local businesses to be more competitive,” he said.
BOCCIM CEO, Maria Machailo-Ellis, said Botswana must transition to an economy where companies successfully export a diversified range of goods and services.
“Global economic integration is broad; it means not just more exports but more imports, greater labour mobility both inward and outward and flows of investment from the rest of the world into Botswana, and vice versa,” she said.
Machailo-Ellis further said there would be open debate and discussions on the steps Botswana needed to take to become an internationally competitive country with an attractive environment for conducting business.