Tokafala Graduates 20 Entrepreneurs

Pauline Dikuelo | Monday December 18, 2017 16:50

 

This year, the programme has graduated about 20 entrepreneurs in Gaborone and 35 in Francistown. Initially, the programme targeted 600 micro-enterprises and 445 small ones.

Speaking during the graduation recently, the programme’s Hub Manager, Victor Mong’gae said the programme aims to promote economic development and employment creation through Small Macro Medium Enterprises (SMME) support.

“The programme has exceeded its target as it saw a revenue growth in the businesses that were assisted. Just like other years, graduates have gone through four months of training where we met with them once a month and gave them one-on-one sessions to ensure that they apply what we have taught them,” he said.

According to Mong’gae, out of the 20 that have graduated about 10 will continue to get technical and business advisory as well as mentorship from Tokafala for the next five years.

“It was not easy but we had to consider the businesses that we think we can assist going forward. Some of the ones that we have not selected is because they do have the potential to grow even without us,” he said.

Further he said the donors decided that the programme should continue to be carried out for more years to be aligned with the national Vision 2036.

The programme, which started four years ago under a three-year contract ending December last year, has been extended with another three years until 2020. This was after government, through the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) injected about P40 million into the second phase of the programme.

Tokafala is an entrepreneurial development and funding initiative born out of a partnership amongst the Botswana government, Anglo American, De Beers and Debswana. On its inception in 2014, the government and Anglo American Services Limited agreed to contribute $3.9 million (P37.55 million) each. The government was expected to contribute $450,000 in the first year, $420,000 for the second year and $510,00 for the third year.

For the past three years, De Beers, Debswana and Anglo American delivered on their part with De Beers and Anglo American contributing U$1 million each and Debswana contributing U$2 million.

Earlier, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Peggy Serame said in its first two years of operation, there has been an average revenue growth of 39%, which amounts to P49 million amongst participant businesses with this figure rising to 260% when looking at micro-sized businesses.