DBSA eyes to finance projects in Botswana
Staff Writer | Wednesday July 5, 2017 16:23
The strategic objectives of the new partnership seeks to establish a capacity building and exchange programme whose aim is to address gaps and needs, both current and emerging and recommending ways to address them.
The MoU also exists to identify opportunities to strengthen capacity at the national and regional levels and lastly project preparation and co-financing of some projects.
According to the BDC managing director, Bashi Gaetsaloe this alliance will give the BDC a competitive advantage and an opportunity to access a broader range of resources and expertise.
“We believe through this partnership, BDC will sufficiently make a mark in Southern Africa and certainly penetrate the African market in order to grow its pipeline. This collaborative environment will strengthen communities, and offer BDC an important opportunity for success and expansion,” he said.
Gaetsaloe further said the mutual understanding allows both BDC and DBSA an opportunity to formalise a non-exclusive framework of cooperation and future collaboration. He said this relates to the identification, preparation, financing and implementation of bankable infrastructure projects within the republic of Botswana adding that in the process there will be sharing of information, skills, knowledge, expertise and systems.
BDC says it continues to build strategic partnerships with leading financial institutions across the region.
DBSA is a development finance institution wholly owned by the government of South Africa, which seeks to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development and improve the quality of life of the people of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by driving financial and non-financial investments in the social and economic infrastructure sectors.
Recently, DBSA partnered with Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) on the University Challenge which encourages students to come up with innovative fresh ideas, implementable proposals that address problems faced by Botswana, proposals with a focus on adoption of new and emerging technologies.
The challenge was offered by the Chairman of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) and the DBSA chief executive officer, Patrick Dlamini with an offer to pay out P100,000 to any student who could come up with an implementable solution to address any of the key issues facing Botswana. Further, in order to encourage entrepreneurship amongst women if the winning candidate is female, she will receive an extra P50,000 for a total of P250,000.