Boswa Energy Braves The Odds

Pauline Dikuelo | Monday February 19, 2018 15:44

 

Starting from humble beginnings last year, Boswa Energy, a wholly citizen-owned company distributes bulk fuel and offers transportation of fuel.

Sealetsa told Monitor Business that he identified a gap in the energy sector and realised that it has the potential to help diversify the economy as well as create jobs.

According to Sealetsa, to attain this he would enter into partnership with other determined entrepreneurs who are eager to venture into the same industry noting that his mission is to empower other locals.

“There is a gap between locals and our industry, which is penetrated by international players and for us to close it we need partnerships and to come up with ways of working together. We envision to have about 54 filling stations by 2022 in Botswana and across SADC and we would be tagging along with some locals to realise this,” he said.

Sealetsa said last year they conducted several workshops to understand the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs noting that they realised that many locals’ dreams are shattered due to lack of finance.

He said this explains why they went back to the drawing board to come up with solutions that would help harness the industry that still has potential.

“We wanted to be that game changer; the ones that would help locals unlock opportunities. We need to support each other for the sake of our country as you can recall that BP, Shell and Caltex have been bailing out and we need to act now to secure the future of this industry,” he said.

Last year, Boswa Energy entered into partnership with Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC); a Dubai-based company that fuels the United Arab Emirates.

As part of the partnership, Boswa Energy would distribute lubricants from Dubai and sell them in Botswana. They would also benefit in skills transfer, as their staff would get an opportunity to get training in Dubai.

“Our franchisees would also benefit in this endeavour because they also get an opportunity to go and get training in Dubai. We also consider exploring other business opportunities because ENOC also does other businesses, even retail, which we want to venture into,” he said.

Boswa Energy has also entered into partnership with South Africa’s Mzesi Energy to provide required solutions with a range of high quality branded automotive and industrial lubricants, greases and other specialty products.