Bank Gaborone Pledges P200m For CEEP
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday June 14, 2021 15:20
Debswana CEEP is a programme that aims to capacitate citizen companies to participate in the Debswana supply chain. Mokefane revealed this recently when he addressed attendants at the launch of Bank Gaborone and Debswana’s partnership for the Diamond companies CEEP programme held at Cresta Thapama Hotel.
When addressing attendants during the CEEP programme launch, Mokefane said that their bank has pledged P200 million, which will be used for this financial year and will continue to provide funds as long as opportunities arise.
He said that as a bank they take their role as a financial partner seriously hence they saw the CEEP programme as an opportunity for them to step in and provide the necessary tools for Batswana-owned businesses in the mining industry.
Mokefane stated that they want to contribute to socio-economic life by supporting local businesses thereby empowering citizen-owned SMMEs and their ecosystems. He expressed gratitude to Debswana for coming up with the CEEP programme and bringing them in as a financial partner.
He further shared that 2020 was a bit of a rollercoaster across industries and there have not been as many opportunities in a lifetime where one has lived through an unprecedented period such as during COVID-19. Mokefane added: “The past year particularly with COVID-19 descending upon the world and wrought havoc.
As a result, all the businesses in mining, tourism and the entertainment industry have been disrupted.
The government is anticipating a recovery period that is bound to take some period of time.”
He further said that it is within these prevailing circumstances that they received an opportunity as Bank Gaborone to partner with Debswana on their CEEP programme during these tough times.
He indicated that one of the important parts of CEEP is the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) that has been set up under the same programme to make sure that it develops citizen suppliers and trickles down to the ecosystem.
According to Mokefane, Bank Gaborone is more than ready through its wholesale division to work through the ecosystem of the Debswana CEEP programme. He added that the wholesale division will work as a primary contact area when dealing with the global markets, assets finance and provide capital, personal banking, investment banking, and bank assurance and will provide dedicated relationship management. When speaking about the CEEP programme, the senior project manager at Debswana, Wanatsha Moakufi said that Debswana is undergoing a transformation journey and it needs to redefine itself because the global markets are changing due to digitalisation.
He said that the CEEP programme sits under the sustainable livelihoods pillar and its purpose is creating opportunities. Moakufi said that they believe that the time is right to partner with corporates and those interested are free to come to Debswana and state the solution that they have in terms of empowering the community.
He said that Bank Gaborone came through with their money and informed them that they were willing to provide access to finance to make sure that the objectives of providing citizen empowerment are met. Moakufi stated that the programme has been carefully crafted and they have design principles that clearly illustrate what the programme is all about. He said that through the programme they anticipate delivering a value of P20 billion in 2024 and from that amount of money 20,000 jobs must be created.