Thamane was speaking at the recently ended Botswana-EU policy dialogue hosted by the Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA). The event was designed to engage with stakeholders across the economic divide to debate how affirmative action can be used to boost youth’s economic participation.
Much of the debate was on how to improving the participation of young people in the country’s economic activity.
Thamane, a youthful administrator who previously led CEDA’s Young Farmers Fund, said there is need for dialogue on reducing the amount of bureaucracy young people face within the country.
“The young people of this nation are facing a lot of bureaucratic red tape, which blocks them from being optimal in their various fields,” he said. “This is why we are here today to see how best we can assist them overcome these hurdles.” According to Thamane, it is equally important to ask if the young people of Botswana are doing enough to take advantage of the numerous lucrative opportunities that exist in the country. This, he said, is a question all young people in Botswana should ask and answer by themselves.
Ministry of Entrepreneurship permanent secretary, Joel Ramaphoi, said as the new kid on the block, his ministry is determined to change perceptions, especially around youth entrepreneurship and how this can help drive the country’s economy.
“We have to foster a mindset change in the young people of Botswana and this mindset change should centre on improving value chain development and fostering disruptive thinking among the young people,” Ramaphoi said.
According to the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis’ David Mmopelwa, between 2017 and 2021, CEDA spent close to P600 million funding young citizen’s enterprises in various sectors of the economy.
He revealed that dryland farming was the dominant economic activity chosen by youths during the period. The balance between male and female beneficiaries was skewed however.
“In 2021, female youths received an amount of close to P5 million compared to a staggering P66 million by their male counterparts,” Mmopelwa said, a statement that set the room ablaze with questions on the gender imbalance in youth entrepreneurship.
