I attended the US-Africa Business Summit in July in Botswana, a country I have lived in in my youth, as a bachelor and then as a parent to boot.



The kids were born in the country’s new and first private hospital, GPH, efficient and chic, way back in the 1990s.



The conference center is equally so today – sparkling, purpose-driven, punctuated by smart cops along the brand-new roads leading there. A hallmark of Botswana. No wastage. Elegantly done at just the right time.



I left Botswana 25 years ago and have traveled the globe a bit. A journey that made me understand geopolitics and see its hypocrisies. Yet, this Kalahari country of my youth quietly got so many things right: control over its primary resources, universal free health, education, buffering cattle farmers from market volatilities, infrastructure, institution building, respect for the law, clean elections, conservatism, and a policy-driven government staying true to its manifesto.



A case study on getting things done.



Yet, many of my old friends, prosperous and welcomed as they have been in their adopted country, remain critical.



I dare say I left them unmoved. Familiarity breeds contempt?



But if the country still had many flaws, diamonds too need imperfections to shine.



The weather that week was the quintessential Kalahari winter I had long forgotten. Cold and crisp in the shade and warm in the sun, dry in its core but embracing in its reach; epitomizing the Motswana spirit.



‘What you see is what you get.’ A GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) per capita of about $20,000, Africa’s best credit rating, and a literacy rate of about 90%. The country has shown what planning and execution can achieve in only five decades.



I have a special bond with it.



1966 is my birth year and the year of Botswana’s independence.



At that time, one of the poorest – with a GDP per capita of about $70 per year – landlocked and two-thirds desert, it has transformed itself from being hopeless to a developed country today.



The country’s tale of self-rule is intertwined with that of white supremacy to prevent a marriage between an African chieftain destined to be the first President and his white British fiancée. They overcame it against all odds while maintaining peace with an unapologetic British government and an apartheid neighbor, South Africa.



It is a story of love and self-belief.



And above all, supreme diplomacy from a rustic but wise nation to forge a modern nation. Indeed, a testament to the rural fabric of fortitude and patience.



If indeed a country’s future lies in its history, this country’s common sense is its foundation.



While there, my evenings were laced with nostalgic dinners. Soaked in old stories, revealed, regaled, and rekindled.



Touchingly, those lovely people of Gaborone, the country’s capital, served up my favorite cravings and my special indulgences. Bonded with love and tied with memories.



Humane but often elusive. Serene indeed to see people from yesteryears making time for you. The President is an imposing figure with conviction; he’s articulate and clearly visualizes a thriving, peaceful Botswana.



And indeed, he is so comfortable as an African thought leader.



I recalled the days of a ‘quiet’ Botswana.



Now, their charismatic leader espouses African collaboration, instilling hope, and embracing the wisdom that deliverance for Africa must come from ‘us, the people’.



He reiterates the enormous possibilities, the need to share knowledge within Africa and the necessity of collective bargaining.



The miracle that the continent survives despite the incessant barrage of exogenous influences should embolden us for greater things, not derail us.



I bow to Botswana, the cradle to my young impressionable days where the seeds of inspiration were sown in me.



I learned the joys of networking, collaborating, and understanding different cultures in this little unheralded town.



I learned humility was a tool, humanity a constant and hubris a disease. For prosperity, peace, and progress. In a continent of discontent, Botswana is that beacon of hope and tranquility. May it drive the destiny of Africa. A harbinger of greatness and a poster boy of solidity in the maligned and exploited continent of Africa. Thank you, Botswana, as you seek your rightful place among the great nations of this world.

Gaborone, South East, Botswana 27 April 2017 aerial panorama of  Main Mall

A Homecoming: To The Beacon Of Hope And Tranquility

For the first time on the African continent, the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa kicked off in Botswana’s capital Gaborone yesterday, April 24, with 600 entrepreneurs in attendance for the five-day event.



At the opening night in Gaborone’s historic Main Mall, an outdoor shopping and commercial hub in the heart of the city, an audience of about 2,000, including summit delegates and members of the public, cheered and swayed to live music.



The country’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who&nbsp;took to the podium for the welcome speech, was greeted by more applause and celebratory ululations.



“Some of the finest under-30s that the world of entrepreneurship has to offer [are here], with 200 from Botswana, 200 from the rest of Africa and another 200 from the rest of the world… We will witness for the first time how Botswana harnesses the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and promotes conversations that foster innovations and creativity… In Botswana, the youth, being change-makers and future leaders, are continuously encouraged to play a leading role through various funding mechanisms from public to private sources… we have also embarked on digitization as the epicenter of our national development agenda and young people are being empowered through several initiatives,” said Masisi.



For the many watching, this was “a people’s concert” held in a place of significance.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The Main Mall is the original mall built after independence. A lot of us grew up here,” remarked Pat Dambe, Head of Corporate Affairs at the De Beers Group of Companies in Botswana.



The crowds gathered outside the Cresta President Hotel, overlooking the main stage.&nbsp;



“The President Hotel is a legacy hotel. And our President wanted to bring everybody back to where we started and it really is a renaissance. It’s a rebirth. And it’s all about young people, so it’s also the future. We are so excited to see the buildings around that have been upgraded,” added Dambe.



In the crowd, Kemo Kwadiba, the Managing Director of Care Medicals Botswana and one of the 200 entrepreneurs from Botswana sponsored by De Beers and the country to experience the summit, was ecstatic as local hip hop artist ATI took to the stage for an energetic performance.



“I am very keen to meet with entrepreneurs from Africa and the world at the summit; I want to share notes with them, all the way from here to Kasane, where I will be attending the second leg of the summit,” said Kwadiba.



Yet another young businessman in the crowd, Botsile Tshepo Moreba, the owner of Sanctified Delights Bakery in Bobonong, a&nbsp;small town in the country’s Central District, drove five hours to get here.



“I am not an Under 30 lister, but I feel like one,” he said.



Lenny Motshodi, a small-scale farmer who mainly sells lettuce, said he too was looking forward to mingle with other agri-preneurs in the audience.



Similar sentiments from summit attendee, Busi Pooe, the CEO of Tshimong in South Africa and also FORBES AFRICA’s 2019 30 Under 30 lister: “Tonight was hugely inspirational. I had the opportunity to reconnect with past FORBES AFRICA Under 30s from all over the African continent who&#8217;ve been recognized for their potential, and have actually gone on to realize it. President Masisi commented that Africa&#8217;s time is now and the youth are in the driving seat. I&#8217;m excited for the next few days of networking as it will continue to build on the momentum set tonight.”&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;



Just before Ghana’s DJ Black made his way to the stage for his much-awaited show, President Masisi concluded his speech, summing up the mood of the night: “My wife and I are in our dancing shoes and we are ready to rock!”

thumbnail_IMG_0365

An African Night Celebrating Global Entrepreneurship  

Meet the women challenging stereotypes deep in the bush in Botswana’s
tourism capital Maun, filling roles conventionally held by men.



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For 10 years, until 2018, Botswana had no First Lady, as President Ian Khama was unmarried. Botswana’s first First Lady, Ruth Williams Khama, the wife of Botswana’s first president Sir Seretse Khama, was recognized for her charitable work with women, and the current First Lady, Neo Masisi, is a champion for these causes too.



 However, Masisi is also an accountant by profession with an MBA and an impressive resume (United Nations Headquarters in New York, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic). 



But not just on the frontlines, in the deeper realms of this southern African country and acclaimed tourism destination, there are more women defying stereotypes, especially in its famed safari industry. 



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In
the country’s tourism capital of Maun, at Kwando Safaris, guests visiting the
iconic Okavango Delta waterways and predator plains of the Central Kalahari
might be surprised to discover that for over a decade, a majority team of women
have been behind the operation. 



“Having
so many women work in the company was never a policy; it just happened that
way. I guess that women were just more capable,” says Sue Smart in her office
in Maun. 



She talks about her role as the Director of Kwando Safaris for 12 years as an accidental occupation, but a gutsy corporate background primed her for the head position. 



“Coming
to Gaborone as a volunteer, I worked with children impacted by HIV/AIDS. Then I
visited the Okavango Delta on holiday. A chain of life events eventually led to
me working at Kwando Safaris’ Kwara Camp, volunteering back of house, in the
kitchen, with housekeeping – anywhere they needed it.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41513" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ungwang-Makuluba-Moremi-Air-1.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Ungwang Makuluba is Moremi Air&#8217;s first local female pilot. Picture: Melanie Van Zyl </figcaption></figure>



Formerly
a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, with a background in environmental
biology, it was a chance meeting with the owner that saw her grow from
volunteer to boss in just three months. “In many ways, I was not a conventional
fit for this role. I’m not African, a pilot, a guide, or a man, but my
background in other areas meant I could run a business – even in the bush.” 



Having
a woman at the helm has had significant side effects for the company. Many
women at Kwando Safaris hold high positions, from the general manager to
operations manager to those in reservations to sales and marketing. This
unofficial head office policy also extends into the camps in a formal staff
management plan, where each lodge has a male and a female camp manager always
on duty.&nbsp; 



Looking
at the origins of tourism in Botswana, it’s perhaps not surprising that
(generally speaking) travel in southern Africa has been a male-dominated
industry. After all, the very first visitors to Botswana’s wild spaces were
rough and tough gun-slinging, trophy-seeking tourists. 



The current CEO of Botswana Tourism is a woman and, attesting to the country’s progressiveness, she’s not the first either. Myra Sekgororoane is encouraging about women in the industry saying, “I have not encountered any significant challenges because of my gender. Perhaps, I have been lucky in that the hospitality and tourism industry tends to have a high predominance of females globally.” 



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According
to National Geographic, research shows working women in developing
countries invest 90% of their income in their families, compared to the 35%
generally contributed by men. 



Tumie
Matlhware and Ruth Stewart, managers for Travel For Impact, wholeheartedly
agree. The Maun-based NGO aims to spread the wealth generated from tourism
activities into the community, providing a direct and tangible link between
conservation and its benefits. 



“We
want tourism dollars working beyond the traditional tourism world,” says
Stewart, when we meet for coffee at the charming Tshilli Farmstall, another
female-run establishment in Maun. 



Travel For Impact has a powerful goal, with the slogan of “If every tourist who slept in our beautiful country paid 1 USD for every night they spent here, we would raise in excess of 300,000 USD per year”. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">By partnering with exclusive lodges, camps, tour operators and hotels in Botswana, funds generated are put into local community partners, such as support for basket-weaving cooperatives. Looking at the company profile, the NGO funds many projects that support women. </blockquote>



Stewart shares the scientific standpoint endorsed by National Geographic, saying: “Women are the backbone of the community. If you support women, it gets passed down. They buy food, school supplies and more. They are the pillars of society.”&nbsp; 



The corporate social responsibility choice at Kwando Safaris concurs. Smart believes that “the ultimate saviors of animals are people, which is why we sponsor the grassroots initiative, Mummy’s Angels, instead of a more usual conservation project”. 



Mummy’s
Angels started in April 2018, spearheaded by three women in Maun, to empower
mothers with newborns who have little by way of financial support. 



“We
had second-hand clothes and other baby items in good condition and wanted to
donate somewhere it would make a difference,” says one founder, Rochelle Katz. 







<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41512" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-15.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Poling visitors through the Okovango Delta. Picture: Melanie Van Zyl</figcaption></figure></div>



Thus,
they put the word out and soon began delivering baby bags stocked with
essentials, such as nappies, clothes and wipes, plus pyjamas for the mothers. 



“Items
that seem so indispensable to us count as luxuries to these moms. Women come
from as far as Ghanzi to give birth in Maun, often they have very little with
them, or the moms are young without work or funds to support a family,” says
Katz on a visit to the maternity wing at Ngami District Health Management Team.




“Luckily,
there is no one in need today,” a nurse smiles, as Katz walks in. The local
Maun hospital certainly approves of the initiative, which is driven by need
rather than imposed, and the nurses on duty identify mothers that can benefit
from the meaningful baby bags. 



Speaking
of children, Bontekanye ‘Bonty’ Botumile is a research student based in Maun
specializing in oral traditions and land use. She is also a prolific
story-teller. 



“I
come from a family of story-tellers, and I think maybe because I don’t have
children, I needed a channel for my stories. I created books such as Tlou
the Elephant to share what I’ve learned and to pass on the teachings I
learned at home.” 



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She
believes that women are predominantly custodians of culture, passing it onto to
children in diverse ways that include story-telling. “My challenge isn’t so
much a gender issue, but a sector issue. Carving a niche is hard work. I am
trying to develop cultural tourism in a destination renowned for wildlife. It’s
a steep incline on many levels.” She is also an inspiration for others. 



“If
it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have joined the tourism industry,” says Wabone
Temane. Hailing from Moeti Ward in Maun, Temane is the current camp manager for
Pom Pom Camp, a luxury stay in the Okavango. She’s been in tourism for almost
20 years but admits to some gender-based challenges. 



“As
a female manager, I come across people who do not want to be supervised by a
woman. They are afraid of change and do not accept criticism easily. They can
even change the whole working environment since they are full of negativity and
very influential on the other staff. It’s very disrespectful at times.”
However, there is strength in numbers. 



“Bontekanye
‘Bonty’ Botumile is my inspiration in the tourism industry. She has always been
very supportive and encouraging – a sister, indeed,” she adds.&nbsp; 



Camps
such as Pom Pom are famed for its forward-thinking environmental policies and
sustainability, but the crucial means to access and experience Botswana’s
remote landscapes is to fly in.&nbsp; 



Ungwang
Makuluba is Moremi Air’s first local female pilot. “About 20 pilots in Maun are
female, and I think 12 of us are locals too,” she says, when we meet at the
Maun Airport. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41514" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mokoro-Sophie-and-Nora-14.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>A mokoro is one of Botswana&#8217;s most iconic travel offerings. Picture: Melanie Van Zyl </figcaption></figure>



“The
guys I’ve worked with have been very supportive, and I’ve learned so much from
them. I think we are past the stage of flying being a male-dominated industry
and there’s been gradual change. I want to work for Air Botswana. It’s great
flying across the Delta, but I want to work for my country.”



The
General Manager of Moremi Air, Kelly Serole, has been in charge for over 10
years, reinforcing the notion that women are not new to the safari scene. 



From
the sky to the soil, two more women demonstrate this on the ground. Floating
through on the waters of the Okavango Delta in a mokoro (a traditional
dugout canoe) has to be one of Botswana’s most iconic travel offerings, yet, at
many high-end lodges, you’ll find its a male guide that steers guests between
the tall reeds and yellow-centered waterlilies. 



The
Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (OKMCT) early on saw the need to include
women in their operations. On an overnight trip facilitated by Delta Rain,
Sophie Kehemetswe and Nora Tsaru, pole visitors through the UNESCO World
Heritage Site waters of the Okavango Delta. 



“More
women are poling the rivers now than men; there are many women,” the two agree
when asked about the gender split. 



“It
can be difficult to get the guiding license though. I studied for a month,
which includes a written test and interview. Some old women in the village
cannot write,” says Kehemetswe, as she gently poles between the swishing reeds.




A
community-run operation, the OKMCT operates in six villages at the southern
access points to the Delta, namely Ditshuping, Boro, Xharaxao, Xuoxao, Daunara
and Xaxaba. This safari offering started back in 1997, and a visit to head
office reveals that women were included in the operation as early as 1998 – just one year into
business. 



“I can
lead walks on the islands as well. I much prefer walks to the canoeing and
seeing zebra is my favorite – that is our national animal. Do you know why? The
zebra is black and white reflecting our history. Sir Seretse Khama, a black
man, married Ruth Williams, a white woman. All people are welcome in Botswana,”
she smiles proudly. The
country’s two First Ladies can be proud. &nbsp;



Meet the women challenging stereotypes deep in the bush in Botswana’s tourism capital Maun, filling roles conventionally held by men.



&#8211;Melanie Van Zyl

Mokoro – Sophie and Nora-12

No Longer In The Wilderness

The exuberance of youth might be just what the doctor has ordered for Africa. There is no doubt that the zest this minister has for her responsibilities will take the continent far.&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Bogolo Joy Kenewendo has hit the ground running in her role
as Botswana’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, while making history
as the youngest person to be appointed in the position. She, however, takes it
all in her stride as she has always wanted to impact people’s lives.
Kenewendo’s outlook injects a fresh perspective on how she, and her
counterparts in strategic positions, intend on enriching a continent brimming
with possibilities. She shares her views on education, finance, empowerment as
well as traditional practices. 



Q. Are you Africa’s youngest minister, and how does it feel to be “a first” in your career path?



A. I’ve heard rumors that I am the youngest but I have no
confirmation. It’s been a great surprise and an honor. I was so humbled by all
the good wishes and cheers from around the world. I, however, say youth
leadership was the flagship of the political independence and revolution, and
so it should be for the economic independence revolution that I believe our
generation should lead. 



Most of the revolutionary leaders who brought Africa its independence were younger and some of the same age [as me]. 



Patrice Lumumba was 29 when he was, unfortunately,
assassinated as Prime Minister. Kwame Nkrumah, Sir Seretse Khama and Julius
Nyerere were in their late 30s, early 40s. Graça Machel was 30 years old when
she became Minister of Education in Mozambique.



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Q. Why did you choose politics?



A. I have always wanted to do something that I felt could
have an impact on people’s lives. I studied Economics and worked as an
economist because I believed it was a good choice for those looking to
interrogate policy and make informed adjustments to the benefit of all. Where I
am at the moment, I get to be part of the highest decision-making body in the
country that directly affects people’s lives.



Q. Being young, African and a woman, what does representation mean to you?



A. Representation is very important. We all need to be
reminded of what is possible in the world. People from what is termed
“backwater villages” need to see the girl from Motopi and be comforted in that
you don’t need to come from big cities, or have a “known name”, or be of “a
certain age”. If you work hard and represent yourself well, someone will take
note. The world is always watching.



Q. Describe your academic/career path and the plans you have for Botswana.



A. I have a BA in Economics and MSc in International Trade
and I’m pursuing some more higher learning. 



My team and I have plans of making Botswana the startup
capital of the region and we are repositioning Botswana as a gateway into the
rest of southern Africa. 



We are doing so by working on our business reforms, to enable doing business in Botswana and working on a one-stop border post services with our neighboring countries. 



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We are also investing in transport and ICT infrastructure
and of course, providing incentives, including a competitive corporate tax rate
of 5% in designated and reserved areas, as well as, government offtake
agreements with manufacturers who meet government needs most importantly. We
offer hospitality that is synonymous with our proudly Botswana culture, all
premised on Botho, democracy, accountability and peace.



Q. Africa has a prominent rural population that often has less civic participation because of lack of resources. What would you say to them?



A. Living in a modern economy doesn’t mean we should abandon
some traditional ways of engagement and accountability. We should enhance them
and demand for governments to notice them for the purposes of inclusivity. 



No government should wish for a disengaged population, it’s
in their best interest to ensure inclusivity and, therefore, such efforts
should be rewarded. In Botswana, the government holds the rural and traditional
courts highly and uses them as a key consultative and engagement/ participation
platform. 



The kgotla system has now been copied and exported by
thought leaders, recognizing Tribal Management of inclusivity, a community
spirit and ensuring that each gets the chance to voice his or her opinions,
every stage along the way. Echoing the true meaning of lekgotla, “I am because
we exist,” which in the West is democracy, ‘for the people, by the people’. 



Q. Share your highlights and the most challenging moments you’ve had so far.



A. Leading this ministry and working for the people of
Botswana is an everyday highlight. Every moment has been quite intense because
I’m aware that the hopes of many rely on this ministry and our cooperation with
the rest of government. 



I thank God every day for the strength, wisdom and joy
(especially in the face of adversity) he gives me to do this role.



My first international engagement following my appointment was to chair a SACU Ministers of Trade meeting which had some high temperature issues. There was no easing into the job. 



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It felt like I was David thrown into the ring, before sizing
up Goliath. Fortunately, as it did for David, it went well for me. I am
currently coordinating and chairing trade agreement negotiations on behalf of
SACU+Mozambique with the UK (to deal with the potential trade disruptions due
to Brexit). It is a landmark event and, as a result, so is this agreement. 



At home, our investor after-care company visits bring my
team and I so much joy as they show us what’s possible – the productive
capacity in Botswana. These as well as removing roadblocks for companies and
seeing them flourish. In this short space of seven months, we’ve seen great
progress and this is reassuring. 



Q. What are your economic views of the Africa continent?



A. I am pan-African. I love Africa, I believe in Africa.
Some say the ‘Africa rising’ story is no longer valid but I say ‘dismiss this
beautiful continent at your own peril’. 



I’m hopeful about opportunities, of increased intra-African
trade, that will be unlocked by the&nbsp;
AfCFTA [African Continental Free Trade Area] as well as Tripartite Free
Trade Area. 



Many more African leaders and up-and-coming leaders are alive to [the idea] that it’s only through our cooperation that we can pull ourselves out of our current debilitating state. And to that end in Setswana, we say “kgetsi ya tsie e kgonwa ke go tshwaraganelwa” (Together, we can do more).



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2019/03/05/the-monk-of-business-ylias-akbaraly-talks-about-secret-to-success-and-plans-to-african-with-him/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Monk Of Business: Ylias Akbaraly Talks About Secret To Success And Plans To Take Africa With Him (opens in a new tab)">The Monk Of Business: Ylias Akbaraly Talks About Secret To Success And Plans To Take Africa With Him</a>



Q. What message do you have for Africa’s girls and women?



A. Never let anyone make you believe that you are not
enough. 



You are enough. 



Public spaces, leadership spaces, money spaces are female
spaces too! The most important thing is to ensure we are not comfortable in
being the ‘only woman’ at the table. Any space can do with diversity. 



Please be your sister’s keeper, send the ladder down, extend
a hand (a helping one, even a comforting one, will be most welcome).&nbsp;

Bogolo

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo: Dismiss This Beautiful Continent At Your Own Peril

Climate change is going to have huge consequences all over the world,&nbsp;especially in Africa. Harvests will be affected, threatening agricultural outputs. This could hurt farmers and lead to greater food insecurity.



But there hasn’t been much discussion about what effects climate change will have in other areas – like in the continent’s small and medium business sector. This is a worrying oversight.



Our&nbsp;research, conducted in Zambia and Botswana, revealed that businesses activities faced major disruptions during the 2015/2016 El Niño event. This was a result of drought-related water supply disruption in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, and disruption to hydroelectricity supplies in Zambia’s capital Lusaka.



El Niño&nbsp;is one of the key drivers of variations in global climate conditions between different years. It recurs every two to seven years and it’s typically associated with reduced rainfall and drought conditions in southern Africa.



Reflecting this trend, the 2015/2016 El Niño was one of the&nbsp;strongest on record. It brought widespread drought conditions and heat waves to the region.



By impacting urban water and hydroelectricity supplies, this had major consequences for business activities in Gaborone and Lusaka, as our research shows. These cities’ experiences should serve as a warning for others across the continent, and systems should be put in place to protect particularly small businesses from the worst realities of a changing climate.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Under pressure</h4>



In Botswana, as lake levels in the Gaborone Dam dropped to&nbsp;historical lows, businesses in Gaborone experienced decreased water pressure. In some cases businesses were completely cut off from piped water supply.



Lack of water for food preparation, butchery, irrigation, laundry, cleaning and sanitation had dire consequences for businesses such as hotels and guesthouses, restaurants, food businesses and other service industries. Hairdressers and car washing enterprises, for instance, came to a standstill as they struggled to provide services to customers or to maintain hygiene standards.



In Zambia’s capital Lusaka, where hydropower accounts for&nbsp;94%&nbsp;of the country’s electricity generation capacity, low lake levels in Lake Kariba contributed to unprecedented electricity blackouts, often lasting for eight hours at a time.



In Lusaka, activities reliant on electricity such as manufacturing, processing and communications were interrupted as equipment was immobilised. Assets were lost because they couldn’t be reliably heated or refrigerated. In both cities, supply chains were disrupted.



<figure><iframe loading="lazy" width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nu5pjijFFa4?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><figcaption>A video explaining the authors’ findings.</figcaption></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Infrastructure issues</h4>



Towards the end of 2016, as El Niño drew to a close, more than half of the 135 micro, small and medium enterprises we surveyed in Gaborone and Lusaka told us their profits would be lower than previous years. Almost a third believed that their business was at risk of closing down. Business owners said disruptions to water supply and power outages, in Gaborone and Lusaka respectively, were the greatest obstacles to them doing business.



The two cities’ experiences, alongside the widely reported “Day Zero” water situation in Cape Town, South Africa, should sound a warning for businesses elsewhere on the continent. Water shortages in Cape Town began during the El Niño, but extended into 2018 as drought conditions persisted.



Climate change events like droughts are only going to get worse – and urban centres where many small, medium and micro enterprises thrive will be in the eye of the storm. The 2015/2016 El Niño highlighted that even fairly moderate changes in rainfall can have major consequences for businesses in African cities.



More people are moving to cities, setting up businesses and connecting, often for the first time, to water and electricity grids. This increases demand and places pressure on existing water and energy infrastructure.



At the same time, a complex set of factors has limited the development of new infrastructure and the effective management of existing resources. This means cities are struggling to keep up with the increased demand.



These factors, which include under-investment in infrastructure, policy uncertainty, governance challenges and poor municipal service provision, exacerbated the effect of drought in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Preparing for a new reality</h4>



So what can be done to address these realities?



First, action is needed across sub-Saharan Africa to increase understanding of the vulnerabilities in existing water, energy and urban infrastructure – alongside the effects of increasing urbanisation and a changing climate.



And, second, small and medium sized businesses, which are&nbsp;key drivers of economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa&nbsp;and provide many people with a livelihood, need more support from governments and policy makers to help them cope with disruption.



This should include better access to information about the timing and severity of anticipated disruption to water and electricity supplies, as well as support to invest in coping strategies such as alternative sources of energy.



<ul><li><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-elizabeth-gannon-601360">Kate Elizabeth Gannon:</a>&nbsp;Postdoctoral researcher, London School of Economics and Political Science</li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/declan-conway-434384">Declan Conway:</a>&nbsp;Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science</li></ul>



<ul><li>Patrick Curran, a policy analyst at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, also contributed to this article.</li></ul>

RC198DAA9370

Small Businesses In Africa Will Be On The Frontline Of Climate Change

In March, the MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) report was released and it contained good news. Uganda has the highest percentage (34.8%) of women business owners in the world.
The East African country led in various key components of the survey; the highest percentage (90.5%) of female entrepreneurs in the world borrowing and saving money to start a business, highest (93.9%) labor force participation rate and a 100% women entrepreneurial activity rate, meaning women are as likely as men to start a business. Notably, cultural perceptions of female entrepreneurs in Uganda were surprisingly higher (68.8%) than the average (41.3%). Second in the index was another African country – Botswana at 34.6%. Sadly, out of the six African countries included in the 54-country survey, four were in the bottom half – South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria.
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The survey reveals certain important points. First, women are good for business. Second, markets with supportive entrepreneurial conditions, such as strong SME support, high quality of governance and ease of doing business, tend to drive the progress of women business ownership. Lastly, women advancement in business is not tied to wealth and the level of development in the economy. In other words, the entrepreneurial drive of African women is exceptional. That said, going forward, it’s critical for the rest of the continent to emulate their trailblazing neighbors.
To achieve this, a key question needs to be answered: why should the African woman entrepreneur matter? Findings from the survey show that women entrepreneurs are the backbone of economic growth and are powerful engines of development and financial inclusion. Success for the African woman entrepreneur is success for the economy. Additionally, according to the MIWE survey, like most of their counterparts in developing countries, African female entrepreneurs are driven by resilience, determination and the desire to provide for their families. Investing in women benefits an entire community. Women are also opportunity-seekers and risk-takers – attributes that are vital in inspiring them to become entrepreneurs.
Harnessing these qualities will require the active participation of all stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem; financial institutions, government and private equity. In fact, women-led private equity funds can help catalyse this change by fronting this movement. With many of them now taking leading roles in developing private equity in Africa, their rise should in turn be positive for female entrepreneurs. Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), a global organization promoting senior women in private equity, estimates that there are more than 150 women in senior roles investing or allocating capital across Africa. This is crucial considering the MIWE survey mentioned lack of venture capital as a constraint on the African woman entrepreneur.
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Governments have a central role to play. Enacting business-friendly regulations, removing institutional inefficiencies and ensuring ease of doing business will go a long way in helping the woman entrepreneur realize her potential.
Family and society are also instrumental, especially when it comes to easing gender-related challenges that often hinder women from prospering in business, such as taking care of children. Further inroads can be made in other ways, including training and mentoring programs, honoring successful female business owners and encouraging women networking events.
A brighter future awaits the African woman entrepreneur. Although much of the African women’s full potential and value as entrepreneurs and business owners remains unleashed, gradually implementing a supportive environment will help pave way for more women in the market place.
Hopefully in the future, Africa can realize this and join Uganda as a leading light of the world. &#8211; Written by Rufus Mwanyasi

The Rise Of The African Woman

Reinette van der Merwe has been in the banking industry for more than two decades, and risen to be one of Botswana’s most formidable professionals, but says she still sees glaring gender imbalance in the boardroom – most times, she is the only one woman present.
Van de Merwe, Managing Director of Barclays Bank of Botswana, is aware giant strides need to be made to include more women in corporate Africa.
“I have never really seen gender until a couple of years ago when it was pointed out to me that I am the only woman in the boardroom,” laughs the 47-year-old.
While she never felt discriminated against at any point in her career, her exposure and interactions with other women have highlighted to her that their experiences are not all the same.
While 40% of today’s global workforce is female, only 5% of women hold global chief executive positions in Africa.
This is a far cry from the desired target of 50% to achieve gender equality, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In South Africa, there is only one female chief executive in the Top 40 JSE-listed companies and that’s Maria Ramos of Barclays Africa.
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Van de Merwe worked her way up the ranks and was appointed Managing Director in 2013 after serving as Chief Internal Audit Executive. She is also an avid equestrian.
“I never thought I’d end up where I am now, but from the time I was a child, I wanted to become a chartered accountant and then one day become the chief financial officer of a company.”
Despite being at the helm of a bank in an industry characterized by an onslaught of fines, slowed market performance and litigation since the financial crisis, Van der Merwe, says: “I really love running a bank and although I develop women and men equally, I see competence, not gender.”
That has been the driving force of Van der Merwe’s leadership.
“For me, talent development and management in a bank [is fundamental]. A bank is made up of the people and we’re a service-orientated organization, so people are your most important assets,” she says.
“So for me the most rewarding element of my job is when I see someone really excelling at what they are doing and being able to promote them.”
Van de Merwe elaborates:  “&#8230; when I moved to Botswana, I had a really strong head of IT and in terms of her development, she put up her hand and showed her capability, she’s now my chief operating officer.”
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Leading a people-centered organization is central to another one of Barclays Bank Botswana’s passions carried through programs initiated by the government.
“The government is actively involved in developing entrepreneurship,” she says.
Another of the bank’s focal points is investing in cutting-edge technology that enhances efficiency levels across the business for the consumer.
“One of the government’s aims in Botswana is to bank the unbanked and we are firmly set on this path.”
Recently, the bank continued its digital journey which started with mobile banking followed by internet banking, and international money transfers, where customers can pay school fees or suppliers across the borders by launching a card-less cash deposit service which allows for real-time card-less cash deposits into its accounts by both customers and non-customers at any time and on their own.
And, despite Barclays PLC’s divestment in Barclays Africa, there are still many opportunities and resources for the bank to explore in this space.
Under Van der Merwe’s leadership, the bank has been named Botswana’s ‘Bank of the Year 2016’ by Acquisition International. She attributes some of the success to policies enabling ease of business drafted by the country’s leadership.
“The future of the bank is very exciting as we look to continue developing it as a pan-African bank,” says Van der Merwe.
“We are looking forward to a lot more creativity in making [Barclays Bank Botswana] Africa relevant. We can determine how we want to do business in Africa for Africans and if you look at the divestment which took place in June, it was oversubscribed, so clearly, the market has a lot of faith in the management of the group.
“There’s nothing that stops this group from expanding into the rest of Africa, Asia and even back into London as an African brand,” she laughs. &#8211; Written by Rofhiwa Madzena

The Only Woman In The Boardroom

Thobo Kerekang and Donald Nnoto, a dynamic duo from Botswana, believe that ‘whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve’. They have proved this with their designer label KeNo Custom Suits.
Kerekang and Nnoto say image is everything and people are addressed according to how they look. The designers believe style should match ambition and for this reason they ensure their clients are dressed for success.
KeNo Custom Suits, a name derived from the entrepreneurs’ last names, started three years ago and its success has managed to surpass even their own expectations.
It started as a dream when Kerekang and Nnoto were childhood friends; it is now a reality and referred to as a promising label in the fashion industry.
They set up the business to address the shortcomings of other tailors, such as product quality, time management, service and delivery.
<blockquote>“Many times we were not satisfied with the kind of suits we used to find in shops, they somehow failed to make us stand out. So this drove us to take matters into our own hands,” he says.</blockquote>
KeNo custom designed suits are nothing like the ones sold in stores, says Nnoto.
“They are customized suits that totally bring a new twist to suave with stylish designs and materials. The trendy suits, whose stylish designs quickly enhance one’s image, are made from different materials,” he says.
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The suits scream style while also personifying ambition. Their clothing has caught on in Botswana.
The duo’s success is even more remarkable since neither had much experience in fashion design.  Kerekang and Nnoto yearn to be the best bespoke tailors in Africa.
“We wanted to change the way people look and appear because the respect one gets anywhere is based on their appearance. Another thing is that if you look good, you feel good, thus increased confidence,” says Kerekang.
Kerekang explains that style is an individual’s identity and thus differs from person to person.
“When a group of men stand together wearing suits, ours should be easily identifiable; the cut, fabric and design and we believe a good suit can brighten anyone’s mood and day,” he says.
They want to revolutionize the way people dress.
<blockquote>“Before you say anything  to anyone, your appearance has to say it all. It can either say good things or bad things, thus people need to be cautious when choosing their clothes,” says Kerekang.</blockquote>
KeNo offers suits for all occasions, but, whether their designs are formal or casual, they must create a lasting impression.
“We embody the desires of the client through involving them as part of the suit-making process to deliver a product that is not only good in appearance, but is also a part of them. It is not just the suit we sell, we sell the experience,” says Nnoto.
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Through perseverance, KeNo Custom Suits has continued to grow since its launch. But Kerekang and Nnoto are not going to wallow in their success; they aim to spread their brand to the rest of Africa.
KeNo Custom suits has connections across Africa and has recently partnered with businesses in Zambia.
“We are in the process of establishing more partnerships beyond our borders and growing the brand. Our plan is Africa, the world is next. We are here to create wealth but most importantly a legacy,” says Kerekang.
With demand high and many women feeling sidelined, the pair introduced a ladies line.
“We now cater for every individual that takes their appearance seriously and in the future we are going further than suits – shoes, shirts, watches even glasses,” says Kerekang.
The entrepreneurs’ determination is striking.
“We are inspired by many successful businessmen and women who have made it in life but come from humble beginnings,” they both say.
Soon, others could be inspired by them. &#8211; Written by Kgomotso Molelekeng

First Africa, Then The World

At independence in 1966, Botswana ranked as one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Just over half a century later, with the help of a significant diamond endowment, the richest on the planet, government has managed to elevate the country from a low-income country to one with a mid-income per capita GDP, as it invested the proceeds of its minerals rent into physical and human capital, and into institutions.
The success of this responsible management is to be seen everywhere, as the World Bank elaborates,  “at independence, Botswana had six kilometers of paved roads, three secondary schools, too few healthcare facilities to mention, and a mere 1.5% of the population had completed primary schooling. Today, it has more than 7,000 kilometers of paved roads, more than 300 secondary schools and 95% of Botswanans live within eight kilometers of a healthcare facility, and primary school education is free.”
At a time when its southern neighbor has cold shivers running through its markets, in anticipation of whether or not rating agencies will downgrade the South African sovereign rating to a non-investment grade credit, Botswana has a ranking far from a junk credit. Its upper Investment grade is the highest in Africa.
Government acknowledges, however, that among the challenges it faces, a high HIV/Aids infection rate (the second highest in the World) slows growth. It recognizes it has to diversify the economy, away from an overdependence on mining – especially diamonds – to areas that can carry GDP growth forward. For this reason, it has rolled out the National Development Plan (NDP-11) into tourism, construction, energy and transport. In short, government has assessed that doing the same is not good enough, and to use the worn cliché, diamonds will not be forever.
It has not forgotten where the roots of its humble existence began, and has not forsaken the mining sector’s contribution to the growth in its output, for beneath its soil, lies some 200 billion tons of coal – an estimated two thirds of Africa’s total – a happy co-existence with the volcanic diamond treasures its fiscus holds so dear, and which government manages proceeds from in its public-private partnership venture with Debswana. With so much focus on mineral wealth, it is easy to forget where other areas of promoting economic growth exist. A good example is Botswana’s biodiversity of resources, such as the Okavango Delta, as well as the Kalahari and Chobe, which boost eco-friendly tourism uplift socio-economic conditions of rural communities.
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While the need to diversify the economy grows urgent, there is a frank acknowledgment that government cannot do this on its own. This land-locked country faces challenges from climate change, and has a critical shortage of water and electricity, which threaten any sustainable moves to diversify the economy. Also, government will not hesitate to engage the help of the private sector.
As controversial as the decision may have been to close loss-making copper and nickel mines, the government has indicated a strong resolve to protect its hard-earned fiscal integrity, making any adjustment it deems necessary which would shield the taxpayer, despite mine closures shedding jobs.
Another indication of this responsibility was the decision taken by the Botswana Power Corporation to shed its loss-making Morupule B power station. The drive to privatize the  state-owned enterprises theoretically embraces the concept of Public-Private Partnerships, structures considered to be generally successful.
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Although 4.3% GDP growth in 2016 may not be high by historical standards, it remains a solid base against which key financial stability ratios can be monitored by credit rating agencies. A surplus of 16% of GDP on the current account of the balance of payments, and an almost negligible budget deficit of -0.7% of GDP, appear to have underpinned the decisions by the rating agencies to maintain the upper investment grade ratings by S&amp;P (A-) and Moody’s (A2) last April.
If there is a conundrum that policymakers have to solve, it is not that GDP growth must be diversified, and that a stronger export base will drive growth in output sufficiently to alleviate poverty and income inequality, but rather that the success of economic diversification will be reflected in economic intangibles, such as better levels of education, better healthcare, better institutions to manage the rents derived during times when economic cycles are more volatile and in better regulating private enterprise. &#8211; Written by Colen Garrow

An African Darling For Investors

In 1966, if you drove through Gaborone and blinked you would have missed it. It was little more than a barren railway stop, in the middle of nowhere, on the way from Cape Town to Cairo. Those living here would have said there was nothing more to it than termite mounds and elephants.
At the time, this land-locked country was considered to be the poorest in Africa, with a per capita of $70. It had nine secondary schools, 50 university graduates, a railway line built by Cecil John Rhodes, and five kilometers of tarred road that stretched between Lobatse Station and the High Court.
From this backwater beginning Botswana has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and moved into the ranks of upper-middle income countries. Real GDP shows an average growth of 5% per annum over the past decade, at a time when the most advanced economies have been falling apart. In 2015, GDP stood at $14.39 billion. This remarkable growth, according to the World Bank, is because of diamonds hidden deep in Orapa, 521 kilometers north of Gaborone. The discovery was made in 1967, months after Botswana’s independence was declared on September 30, 1966, and the proceeds went to the state rather than colonial coffers.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5201" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Botswana_JC-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
But, if you look closely at the white walls and fresh cement of Gaborone, cracks appear. In the week FORBES AFRICA arrived in Gaborone, unemployed youth clashed with police outside Parliament; four of them spent the night in jail.
It is called #UnemploymentMovement and uses social media to fuel support, much like South Africa’s #FeesMustFall student protests a year ago. It comes at a time when citizens question the government’s P100 million ($9.76 million) budget for its golden jubilee.
It is a big problem. One third of Botswana’s two million people are youth. The World Bank says poverty in Botswana is 17.8%, among youth aged between 15 and 24 its 34.10%. This is despite government spending 9% of its $14.39 billion GDP on free education.
One of those that spent the night in jail is Jones Banda, a committee leader behind #UnemploymentMovement. Speaking to FORBES AFRICA while on a march on August 13, he says the movement started with just one student, Tlamelo Tsurupe, standing outside Parliament with a poster. Within a week dozens more, including Banda, joined him.
“The youth of Botswana have realized our government can no longer place jobs for the youth&#8230; Most of our emphasis now is on the graduates. Why? Because it is [graduates] that are very frustrated. They have been educated by the government to take control of the economy and now the government is not absorbing them. Mind you, the students have loans to pay,” says Banda.
At the time of going to print, the BDP had not released an official statement concerning police assault at the protest on August 8. A permit was granted for the march held on August 13.
Banda believes unemployed youth make up more than 17.8%. This is because unemployed graduates have to register with the government, meaning that thousands of other students who are not graduates are not considered.
Banda’s stint behind bars hardened his resolve.
“Being in jail is almost as if I was home, not that I have ever been in jail. But for the movement it was a good thing. We felt the brunt of system and so we know now who is on our side. It was what we expected,” says Banda.
While students called for better employment, there are others who have managed to eke out a living.
A 32-year-old electrical engineering graduate, Kagiso Monkgatusi, makes his living from flying a P45,000 ($4,400) drone, one of the few owned and licensed in the country.
Monkgatusi, a photographer by trade, got the idea for his business after seeing footage on the internet. It led to him starting his small business, Africa Killer Bee Media, named because of the sound the drone makes in flight. The drone was given to him as a grant by the government-run Local Enterprise Authority. Monkgatusi’s success is an indication of Botswana’s potential.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5203" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Botswana_unemploymentmovement_JC-8-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />
In Gaborone, there are small signs of burgeoning wealth; tarred roads glisten, as bright as the country’s diamonds, next to dusty sidewalks; malls, polished and pristine, are packed to the rafters with food, shoes and cell phone stores. The city center is a hive of activity as scaffolding rises on the skyline.
Botswana’s success is largely due to a stable government with strong fiscal management, reports the World Bank. President Ian Khama, whose photo hangs on the wall of every store you visit, has held office since 2008. He is the head of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that has been in power since the first elections in 1965. Every president has been democratically elected and all stood down after their two-term limit.
At the very least, Botswana is trying hard to improve investment and growth in their small economy.
For the hungry investor, Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have been built in Lobatse, Gaborone, Palapye, Selibe Phikwe, Tuli Block, Francistown and Pandamatenga.
“In April, P1.6 billion, of P3.5 billion over three years, in tenders have been awarded and the focus is mainly on the construction of roads, health and education facilities. Other sectors that have been allocated package proceeds are manufacturing, tourism and agriculture,” says Moatlhodi Sebabole, Research Manager at First National Bank Botswana.
Sebabole says Botswana also has a five-year national development plan (NDP) which will focus on coal mining, base metals and diamonds. However, according to Sebabole, investors need to keep a careful eye on low agriculture and food security, stability of water and electricity, and low investment growth.
“The production side of the economy still remains under turbulence with the closure of some abattoirs as well as base metal mines like African Copper,” says Sebabole.
Regardless, Sebabole believes Botswana’s outlook over the next 10 years is promising. Focus will remain on infrastructure projects in water, rail and electricity, which will need financing of P100 billion (around $10 billion) by 2019.
Botswana is a far cry from the country that started with $70 per person a year and five kilometers of tarred road. Fifty years on, it faces new challenges that show how far the country has come – some might even go as far as calling it first world problems, including an educated and militant youth.

Young,  Jobless And ANGRY

They dig profitably the desert soil of Botswana searching for stones – that say more than words &#8211; for fingers from Belgium and China to New York. They are so tiny that according to diamond experts, all the diamonds mined in the world, since 1870, would not fill a London double-decker bus.
This is the 44-year story of Botswana’s diamonds. An industry that has overcome hurdles that have tripped many in a string of African countries: ownership laws; competition; land battles and the threat of blood diamonds.
This is also the story of the world’s richest and largest diamond mine, Jwaneng, a huge hole in the desert, ringed by roads, 200 kilometers north of the capital Gaborone.
Diamondfacts.org says diamonds earn approximately $8.4 billion a year for Africa and most come from Botswana. In Botswana, diamonds contribute 33% of GDP and are mined by a joint venture, between the government and De Beers, called Debswana. The venture also means life.
“For our people, every diamond purchase represents food on the table; better living conditions; better healthcare; safe drinking water; more roads to connect our remote communities and much more,” the former President, Festus Mogae, once said.
As a market leader, Debswana can defend itself by holding on to diamonds to keep prices up. This is one reason why production fell in 2015.
According to the General Manager of Jwaneng, Albert Milton, the mine produced about 11.3 million carats in 2014.
“This number went down by 14 percent in 2015 to nine million carats due to market related conditions. We invested about $2.2 billion in 2010 and we are positive about the outlook.”
The mine aims to more than double diamond production to 20 million carats this year.
The big threat that could dull Botswana’s sparkle comes from competition elsewhere.
The bosses at Jwaneng fear that miners from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Liberia, Canada and Russia will find more and more. This could loosen Botswana’s grip on supply and with it power over price.
A geological survey found that Russia could supply the world market for the next 3,000 years as there are trillions of carats lying beneath a 35-million-year-old asteroid crater in Siberia, in the east of the country – it has more than 10 times the global stockpile.
Hanns Spangenberg, a Senior Economist at NKC African Economics, says Botswana’s single largest rating constraint is the country’s dependence on the diamonds, which exposes the economy to external shocks.
“Depressed external demand for diamonds has had extreme consequences for the landlocked country, with real GDP contracting by 0.3 percent in 2015, while the government has been forced to record a fiscal deficit in 2015/16 after recording surpluses the previous three fiscal years,” he says.
Spangenberg adds that authorities are well aware of Botswana’s exposure to the diamond sector, and have tried to diversify the economy – the most significant being the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD). They are pouring state coffers into the dairy, textiles and clothing sectors with the hope of creating jobs.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the Chair of the Kimberley Process – an organization fighting to stem the flow of conflict diamonds – warned in a statement in February, that the outlook was not convincing for the diamond sales industry.
“[It] will be a challenging year for our industry with continuing oversupply, low commodity prices and tightening liquidity. The social impact of these combining factors is likely to be severe and felt across large parts of the world’s diamond producing regions.”
It seems the story of diamonds, that started with discoveries in 1870, in Kimberly, is far from over.

Diamonds  May Not Be  Forever

The year was 1980. Ramachandran ‘Ram’ Ottapathu and his classmates would frequently boycott college and take to the streets holding ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ placards, appealing for the release of the jailed anti-apartheid hero. Mandela’s fight was their fight too, and his freedom, their freedom.
Except that this street protest was not in South Africa, in fact not anywhere in Africa, but in Kerala, 4,200 miles from Johannesburg.
Kerala, that leafy green state in the south of India, famously known in tourism brochures and puff travel pieces as ‘God’s own country’, was where Ottapathu, the man who would one day become a retail king in Africa, grew up. His home is in Ollur in Kerala’s Thrissur district.
Ollur, a small town with quaint little churches, is known for its entrepreneurial energy and commercial bustle. It boasts ubiquitous saw mills, side shops selling rolled gold ornaments, and factories making endless wooden packing cases.
It is said that during the First World War, it was here in Ollur that the wooden packing cases were crafted, for military use. The locals are so enterprising and the town, so filled with entrepreneurs that if a young man left Ollur for a job overseas, he was brushed off as useless, never to return.
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But not Ottapathu, the now famous ‘O’ of Ollur, who changed this narrative for good. Known to his neighbors as ‘Kannan’, an endearing name in Malayalam (language spoken in Kerala), even now, when he left Ollur for Botswana in 1992, in time, he also took Ollur with him.
It would seem that Ottapathu, the CEO of Choppies, Botswana’s biggest retailer, has employed almost half of Ollur.
More than 500 qualified men and women in his hometown have made the crossover to Gaborone, he says.
“Earlier, they didn’t know what I was doing in Africa,” says Ottapathu. “It was a distant place.”
Even before he arrived on African shores, Africa was on his mind.
In 1980, when Zimbabwe gained independence, a young Ottapathu featured the country on the cover of his college magazine. He wrote the words: “You must be loyal to your past, otherwise, you will go back to your past again and again.”
The Africa affinity was in his destiny, somehow, by default.
“My friends and I used to closely observe what was going on in Africa, because of the struggles in those days,” Ottapathu tells me, a fellow Keralite, in chaste Malayalam, when we meet at his plush duplex apartment at The Regent in Johannesburg on one of his many visits to the city from Gaborone.
While in college, studying for a commerce degree, he admits he was unabashedly leftist, and with his friends, always searching for a cause célèbre. For the uninitiated, communism features heavily in Kerala’s political history.
“At the age of 20, if you are not a communist, you are not a human being,” chuckles Ottapathu. “There are a lot of qualities you possess when you are an ideologist. It’s always helpful going forward.”
Evenings in Thrissur as a student were spent with friends by the busy town square, ironically called ‘The Round’, near the Vadakkumnathan Kshetram (a famous Shiva temple in Kerala), devouring the left-leaning Kerala Kaumudi and Deshabhimani publications and discussing the politics of the day. They also played cricket.
“We would always be on the look-out for a theme [to espouse]… We used to have a sort of defiance to everything, we had totally rebellious thinking at the time,” says Ottapathu.
“I tell South Africans the number of days I have spent on the streets in Kerala demanding the release of Nelson Mandela is much more than what an average South African would have done. I must have boycotted more than 100 academic days [to the cause] in the five years of my college life.”
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However, that life, and his thinking, changed when Ottapathu enrolled for his articleship training as part of his chartered accountancy course.
For one, the hours were very demanding. Whilst in college he enjoyed the freedom of bunking classes, he found it difficult to sit for hours hunched over accounting books. He quit in a week. A close friend forced him to return, saying “you don’t have a choice, if you don’t become a professional, your life will be doomed”. Ottapathu is grateful he took his advice and returned to focus on his career. In three years, he passed his chartered accountancy exams in the very first attempt, and “there was no looking back”.
The first son of five children, Ottapathu was born to “a working class family”. His father was a handloom weaver and his mother a housewife who did odd part-time jobs at a construction company. The family was deplorably poor, and from a young age, there was pressure on Ottapathu to make money, so he undertook various part-time accounting jobs.
“We suffered a lot. We were never able to make ends meet. The family had three full meals only about once a year,” says Ottapathu.
“My aim was to get a job, it didn’t matter what job, to earn any income, and take care of the family. For me, everything revolves around family. There is nothing beyond giving a decent living to one’s parents and siblings.”
Ottapathu toiled to lift the family out of poverty, marrying off his sisters, finding jobs for his brother and cousins in the years that followed. His first decent job was in Kochi, a metropolis in Kerala, as a chartered accountant with Apollo Tyres. Soon, he got promoted and transferred to Baroda in the Indian state of Gujarat, further north. It was around this time that the first chapter of his Africa story was written.
While on holiday in Kerala, it was a chance meeting with the managing director of a medical company he visited that launched his career in a completely different geography.
“I had gone there to meet my cousin, and the managing director, seeing me, asked what I was doing and said he had a brother who owned an accounting firm in Botswana and was looking for qualified accountants and if I would like to go. He asked me to send him my CV, which I did and I promptly forgot all about it.”
Ottapathu returned to his regular nine-to-five job in Baroda. The envelope that arrived soon after containing a visa and work permit to Botswana completely took him by surprise. At the time, all he knew about Botswana was it was an African country, and that it had “a lot of diamonds and elephants”.
“I knew it was one elephant for every 50 people,” he says.
On December 18, 1992, Ottapathu left his wife Jalaja and boarded the plane from Mumbai to Gaborone via Nairobi and Harare. On the Air Zimbabwe flight to Gaborone from Harare, his co-passenger was the son of the then Indian High Commissioner of Botswana. His prophetic words still ring in Ottapathu’s ears.
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“I was feeling very gloomy leaving my family. But he told me ‘don’t be sad, you are an accountant, and you are going to paradise, you will be a multi-millionaire one day, because that is the opportunity Botswana offers’,” recalls Ottapathu, who arrived in Gaborone with $20 in his pocket, all that was left after giving away $20 to the immigration officer in Nairobi.
Ottapathu joined the Mazars accounting firm on a dour December day. His first assignment was handling the ailing finances of Choppies’ fledgling predecessor, the Wayside supermarket, in Lobatse, in southeastern Botswana, roughly 70 kilometers from the capital Gaborone and close to the South African border.
To Ottapathu, it was the middle of nowhere, far from the bustling temple precincts of his hometown in Kerala.
The company had huge financial issues. Founded by Farouk Ismail of the Chopdat family (of Gujarati origin) in 1986, the Wayside supermarket was largely a shopping destination for Zambians and Zimbabweans not allowed access to South Africa during apartheid. There were regular train services that terminated in Lobatse, where they would buy goods such as watches, radios and sewing machines, and return.
“When apartheid ended, the train services stopped and the business just collapsed,” says Ottapathu. “But the one good thing about it all was that I could experiment. Anything we attempted was an improvement. The business slowly started turning around.”
By 1997, things were looking better, much better. Ottapathu had managed to steer the company out of its financial quagmire. In 1999, the company opened its first superstore in Gaborone West, which still exists. Ottapathu was appointed CEO in 2000.
“It opened our eyes to the potential of the business,” he says.
But the real turnaround was yet to come, in 2002, when Choppies’ first hyperstore opened in Gaborone.
“That store was the biggest success. It gave us an address and identity. It is still one of the biggest trading stores turnover-wise, in Botswana, doing almost BWP200 million (about $18 million) a year,” says Ottapathu.
The Choppies model was providing high-quality retail products at good value to the lower and middle LSM in smaller towns, through acquisitions of smaller franchises, but also effecting Botswana’s switch from informal to formal retail.
In Botswana, 20% of Choppies’ revenue is from its own branded products, about 50 of them, including sugar, flour, rice, juice, maize and cooking oil.
“In 2004, when the first devaluation of the pula came, all the [informal] Indian traders got a shock. So that gave us an opportunity to buy out a lot of stores from them at very good prices. They were running franchises. In 2003, we were operating Friendly Grocers, OK Foods and Spar. In 2003, we started doing well, so they wanted us to buy more from them, and started putting pressure, so we said ‘we are going alone, you can take your franchise’. That’s when the turnaround happened. That’s when we changed the name to Choppies [after the Chopdat founders].”
That’s not all. Between 2002 and 2007, the company “grew seven times”.
“We have never since had any financial issues. When we started talking to the banks for finance, and projected our financials in 2003, that we were going to have a BWP1 billion ($89 million) turnover, the bank manager would tease me saying ‘you are not normal’. He said ‘even bigger South African companies won’t get half of that, so where will you get it’? And we achieved it in 2004-2005.”
Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana, was appointed Choppies’ chairman in 2008.
The company’s turnover in 2015 was BWP6 billion ($533 million).
Today, Choppies runs 170 stores across Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. West Africa is not being considered for the moment, but Choppies is entering new and underserved markets in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia; even Rwanda is on the cards. It is on course to roll out 200 stores by the end of 2016. The company is growing at 25% every year, and Ottapathu says Choppies is cash-plus.
“We need to grow at 50% to get to 200 stores, and we can see it,” he says.
Listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange in 2012, Choppies’ secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Africa’s biggest stock exchange, from May 2015, is doing well. Choppies is expecting to eventually get “$700 million that will be put into the Africa expansion”.
Choppies entered South Africa in 2008 with a distribution center in Rustenburg, located strategically on the transport route to Botswana. It currently operates more than 60 stores in the country, and that number is growing every month. In an intensely competitive retail environment, with majors such as Shoprite and Pick n Pay, Choppies targets Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, and says it’s doing extremely well in Limpopo, North West province, northern Free State and Mpumalanga.
“We have been competing with South Africa for a long time. Our market share is over 36 percent. There is no other African retailer with that kind of market share in any market,” says Ottapathu, who became a shareholder in 1999, and currently owns 20% of the company.
And his personal net worth, considering he came to Africa with $20 in his pocket?
“I haven’t counted,” he laughs. “I normally don’t.”
Prod him further, and he reluctantly says it could be $300 million.
At heart, he is a simple man who has not forgotten the poverty, pain and hunger that defined his youth.
He says he wears suits only when he meets Botswana president Ian Khama, and displays few trappings of wealth, although he owns two private planes, a Beechcraft and Embraer, parked at Lanseria airport when in Johannesburg.
“It’s quicker connecting to Africa that way,” he says.
It may seem that Ottapathu’s destiny was a foregone conclusion to many. Misty-eyed, he recalls the words of his mother’s sister, an aunt he truly loved, who had no children and passed away before he made that first trip to Africa. His greatest regret to this day is she didn’t live to see him successful.
“She used to like me very much, and often told me, the way you are growing up, you will even one day own a plane, and I would laugh. My regret is I couldn’t look after her.”
Ottapathu lost his father in 2002, but is grateful both his parents saw his success, visiting him several times in Botswana. His 80-year-old mother lives in his family home in Kerala.
He says the true value of wealth is beyond money, it’s enjoying what you do, and never losing focus. After he first arrived in Africa, it took him four years to visit Kerala &#8211; he was that involved in his work. From 1992 to 2003, he says he may have visited India only for 30 days in all.
“I don’t have any aim to achieve so much wealth. I would rather have ambitions relating to the business. My immediate aim for Choppies is to get a billion-dollar turnover. And increase the number of employees from 11,000 to 25,000,” says Ottapathu.
He is known to be a shrewd businessman, never mincing words, but his enterprise and clean reputation have won him admirers on the continent.
“The most remarkable thing about him is the sort of speed and ease with which he moved from working for this accounting agency to taking the opportunity to turn entrepreneurial; the ease with which he saw how parochial we tend to be in big businesses in South Africa and by extension in Botswana, that the approach is local, and he saw that was the niche, in the process explaining how he managed to quickly move into new markets. That sort of global outlook makes him a true citizen of the world,” says Luke Spiropoulos, who met Ottapathu three times as part of his master’s degree research on the migration and mobility of Indian communities in Southern Africa, with the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa and University of the Witwatersrand.
“When he came here, he didn’t have a lot of options at the time but his professional advantage over the others seems to be a particularly sharp knowledge of tertiary education in India, by bringing people in with high-end qualifications. He has a good feel for the human resources market in India,” says Spiropoulos.
Ottapathu says his humble upbringing shaped his belief-systems.
“I am a strong believer in karma. I always say my two hands are my God. Whatever I do the right way, I always get it back. Being a knowledge worker, you use your brain and your hands.”
And not for him ephemeral success.
“Have a long-term view. Don’t look at fortune created overnight. It’s a long-term process rather than an accident,” says Ottapathu.
This is the advice he constantly gives his 23-year-old son Balram, a finance and economics graduate from Wharton, currently studying in Princeton in the United States. His daughter, Bhagyasree, is only 10.
Will his son take to retail like him?
“My father didn’t give me anything,” says Ottapathu. “So he must decide what he wants to be. Sachin Tendulkar [Indian cricketer] said about his son, ‘I can put cricket into his brain, but not into his heart’. Likewise, it has to come from his heart. Eventually, he may take to retail consultancy.”
And the future of Africa?
The future of retail, he says, is smaller stores, given that “hypermarkets are shrinking around the world”.
“The politics is what is putting Africa behind. At Choppies, we try to be neutral, and not align with anything, and work with official channels. Africa is certainly open for business. The growth opportunities here are much better. One day, companies like Walmart will do much better; it will start flexing its muscles. But it will be good for retail in general.”
Will he ever take Choppies to India, just like M.A. Yousuf Ali, the Dubai-based billionaire from his hometown in Kerala, did? Ali opened the gargantuan LuLu Mall in Kerala after a slew of hypermarket-successes across the Middle East.
No, says Ottapathu.
“Currently, we have better returns for our capital here in Africa. We don’t want to lose focus on what we are doing here, if we start doing things in many places.”
But he just might forge the Africa-Kerala connection on celluloid though.
“I have been approached to produce films. I just may. If it happens, the movie will be shot in Kerala and Botswana, linking both countries.”
You just cannot take Africa out of him.
“Africa is an addiction,” concludes Ottapathu. “I don’t even want my dead body to go out.”

“Africa Is  An Addiction  I Don’t Even Want My Dead Body To Go Out”

Botswana is no stranger to National Geographic photographers, but this is not the only reason why it is the third most-visited African country. In 2012, the number of annual tourists (2,337,998) surpassed the number of its citizens. While Kasane, Maun, and the Okavango Delta remain the country’s most visited regions, investors and entrepreneurs flock to the economic hub.
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The country is the least corrupt on the continent and FORBES rated it as the fourth best in Africa in terms of doing business. In November 2013, De Beers relocated its sorting and marketing headquarters to Gaborone from London. The capital will also host the second Youth Africa Games in late May, thus bringing with it enterprises connected with the event. But business aside, from the moment tourists arrive at the newly renovated Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, they are met with modern and innovative architecture. Since independence in September 1966, Gaborone has transformed from a mostly dry shrubland with haphazard buildings, to a high-rise metropolis that is peppered with towering cranes and glass-faced skyscrapers.
Despite its altitude of 1,005 meters above sea level, the capital city is looking to further elevate itself to greater heights. The new central business district is a playground for architects, as key government ministries and the private sector play a friendly game of architectural one-upmanship along the stretch called Government Enclave.
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iTowers, the city’s tallest building, is a recent addition to Gaborone’s skyline. This office and residential block is best known for Sky Lounge on its topmost floor. Businesspeople seal the deal over cocktails and Lebanese food on the 19th floor. While there, visit the Sophie Lalonde Art Gallery, which showcases African artists. But be warned, the 360 degree panoramic views of the burgeoning development below comes at a hefty price for non-members of this exclusive venue. The glass balustrades reveal the city’s blueprints for a second tower and similar feats of civil engineering.
The Botswana Ministry of Defense, Justice and Security evokes images of the hollow, cube-like La Grande Arche de la Defense in Paris with its mirror façades. The ministry can be seen from the city’s most visited attraction: the bronze Three Dikgosi Monument. It is a tribute to three tribal chiefs – Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I – who traveled to Great Britain to prevent the country from being incorporated into neighboring Rhodesia or South Africa. In the backdrop is Botswana’s new BWP500 million ($55.8 million) high court.
Down the road, the Masa Center – meaning a new dawn in Setswana – is more accessible, but just as trendy. Its two symmetrical towers are on either side of a piazza. It is home to the country’s first 3D cinema, boutiques, a luxurious hotel and spa, five restaurants, as well as the blue-themed Absolut Bar – a rooftop venue with a pool and five-a-side football pitch.
The dirt road away from the inner city towards Sanitas Tea Garden gives the impression that one is bundu bashing in Africa, but do not let that put you off. This idyllic eatery is located in the country’s oldest and largest nursery, and uses its own fruit, vegetables and herbs in its dishes. Birds rest in the immense fig tree that provides shade to its patrons in this sanctuary of calm. The nursery grows water-wise plants due to the ongoing drought.
And while in the area, the Gaborone Yacht Club (open Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) is a must. During regattas it overflows with expatriates. This local watering hole offers splendid views of the sun sinking behind the horizon. Yet, these days it is also a stark reminder of the water shortage.
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Go for an early morning hike up Kgale Hill, nicknamed the sleeping giant. At 1,287 meters above sea level, the rocky outcrop is the city’s natural observation deck. There are three one-hour hiking trails to the top. Rusty’s Route, from Lobster Road, is the most challenging, the easier two start at the quarry entrance. Whichever way you choose to ascend, the views are well worth the trek. And who knows, perhaps you will meet the resident baboons along the way.
Upon descending, it will be breakfast time. Tuck into an English or continental breakfast at Savuti Grill at the Gaborone Sun Hotel and lounge around the pool deck before meandering through nearby Main Mall. While there are many modern shopping malls scattered throughout the city – such as Riverwalk, South Ring, African, and others – one can buy just about anything along this commercial strip. It is lined with stores that sell clothing, shoes, music, and stationery. The headquarters and outlets of various organizations, banks and service providers also call this pedestrian shopping complex home.
Meet some of the capital’s most colorful characters here. From the 68-year-old seamstress, who manually pedals her Singer sewing machine and has called Main Mall her open-air office for decades, to the inviting photographer, who takes passport photographs against a red bed sheet that is hung against a building wall.
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Vendors have makeshift stalls from which they sell a smorgasbord of curios and treasures, such as leather sandals made from buck, quirky bumper stickers, books and DVDs, and sports t-shirts. They gleefully wave for attention. If hunger sets in, countless mmas – a term of respect for an older Motswana woman – sell home-made meals, such as beef stews and roasted chicken with cooked vegetables. Do not leave without trying dried Mopani worms, a protein-rich and crunchy delicacy among the Batswana. Of course, there are numerous fast food outlets too, and the Cresta President Hotel never disappoints.
A mere 15 kilometers beyond the city center, Mokolodi Nature Reserve delights visitors with the prospect of a close encounter with nature and wildlife on a giraffe or rhino tracking expedition. Those that feel safer within the confines of a Jeep opt for a game drive, especially the night drive, which is followed by a barbecue in the bush. Otherwise, the seating outside the reserve’s restaurant draws large crowds as wildlife comes to find respite at the watering troughs positioned a few meters away.
No matter what experience you may be after, Gaborone is sure to deliver.

From Concrete  To Rhinos

With an 18% unemployment rate, Botswana is the largest producer—by value—of diamonds, the country’s main source of income, and one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. It has come a long way since its independence in 1966.
Botswana has recently been commended by the African Development Bank (AFDB) for maintaining good economic growth and healthy foreign reserves. The country’s fiscal discipline has raised it to middle income status.
With a GDP of $14.4 million, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected GDP and inflation growth at 3.9% and 6.8%, respectively, for 2013 and 4.1% and 5.8% for 2014.
The country’s main exports are diamonds, copper, nickel and beef. The discovery of alluvial diamonds in the late 1950s has played a large role in the country’s development. Botswana has achieved what many countries in Africa have longed to with their natural resources; ensuring its citizens benefit from their country’s riches.
Debswana, an equal partnership between the government and diamond company De Beers, began in 1978. De Beers has moved its operations and $6 billion-a-year worth of sales to the country. De Beers’ sites have been moved to Gaborone and a new 10-year sorting, valuing and sales contract was secured. The government is looking to turn Botswana into a major international center. The subprime crisis that rocked the world shrunk the country’s diamond revenue.
The country’s rule for new mining investments is that 15% of the company needs to be offered to local investors on the same terms as foreign ones. If the locals do not take up the offer, the companies are free to commence with business as usual.
Pangolin Diamonds recently announced it had discovered one of the largest known kimberlite pipes—a rock formation in which diamonds are formed—in the world at its Tsabong North project.
Botswana cites low inflation, low corruption, a stable economy and investment protection as some of its attractive qualities when courting investors. Investment opportunities lie in manufacturing, information technology and tourism.
It takes 61 days and 10 procedures to start a business in Botswana, and ranks at 56 on the ease of doing business index. The country has increased the profit tax rate; corporate tax is 15%, value added tax (VAT) is 10% and the country has no foreign exchange controls.
Botswana was number 59 on FORBES’ ‘Best Countries for Business’ 2012 list. Credit ratings are stable, with an A- from Standard &amp; Poor’s and an A2 from Moody’s.
Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), enjoys the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) between SADC and the EU.
Near the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport lies the Botswana Innovation Hub. The country is hoping to attract domestic, regional and global companies. The hub will focus on the biotechnology, energy and environment, information and communications technology and ICT enabled services, as well as the mining technologies sectors.
With a history of having one of the highest infection rates in the world, and one of the most advanced HIV/Aids treatment programmes on the continent, a study by Botswana’s National AIDS Coordinating Agency has recorded a 71% decline in new HIV infections since 2001, thanks to increased knowledge and condom use.
Amid all the advances that Botswana has made, it is currently facing some controversy. A court battle against the government began in 2003 after the government began relocating the Kalahari Bushmen population to settlements.
London-based Survival International has called for a boycott on Botswana tourism as a stance against how the Bushmen are being treated by the government. There is concern over Spain’s king, Juan Carlos, being allowed to shoot elephants in the country while the Bushmen are prevented from hunting, a way of life for them. They are also prevented from digging for water in the reserve, but Wilderness Safaris was granted permission to dig boreholes for water, supplying a swimming pool. Botswana is facing a severe water shortage due to receding dam levels caused by drought.
The British lawyer defending the Bushmen’s rights has been barred from returning to Botswana.
On a governance front, the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African governance, compiled and published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, ranked Botswana second out of 52 countries.
The president is selected by the party that wins 29 of the 57 parliamentary seats through proportional representation system. Parliament rejected a call for the people to vote for the president in 2008. The ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party, has been in power for the last 46 years.

A Diamond In The Rough

What do you remember from the 2012 Olympic Games in London? Was it hearing the names of countries you never knew existed? Watching Usain Bolt dash his way into history? The reuniting of the Spice Girls? For Tebo Dambe it was watching the Botswana team march in the opening ceremony wearing her designs.
“Seeing Tebo Couture designs at the London Olympics was a blessing… [My designs were] among renowned designers like Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Cedella Marley just to name a few. Tears dropped down my cheeks as I watched my hard work being paraded down the track and I remembered the hardships that came before it.”
It was a milestone on the painful journey from Botswana to the United States and back again. When Dambe accepted a scholarship from the Botswana government to study at The Academy of Art University, in San Francisco, her dreams began to take shape. Once graduated, she returned to her home country but things didn’t work out and she headed back to the United States, where she worked as a marketing director for an architecture firm.
“When the market crashed many [architecture] firms were retrenching… I was fired,” says Dambe.
She struggled to find a full-time job. Disheartened, she began to wonder where things went wrong in her life. It was then, at her lowest point, when she returned to her passion.
“I’m an artist, I was born an artist. I’ve been doing art, which is fine art, drawing and painting, since I was young… I locked myself in my room and said ‘You know what? I’m going to draw again.’”
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Dambe spent hours in her room with her sketchpad and before she knew it she had completed her first collection. With no clients or money, she took business by the scruff of the neck and Tebo Couture began to take shape.
“I had learned everything I needed to know to run my business at university… you learn how to do a logo, business cards and how to create websites…”
She took pictures of her friends wearing her designs and posted them on social media sites. Just as things were looking up, disaster struck.
“I was involved in a car accident. I had a Landrover and my car literally burned to ashes. Most of my clothes that were in the car burned as well. I am so blessed that I am still here right now… I realized that materialistic things were not that important.”
All hope was not lost. She worked harder and soon the orders started rolling in along with a few celebrity names. Among them: actress LisaRaye McCoy, actor Michael Jai White and TV shows such as Law and Order: Los Angeles and Jersey Shore. Dambe also received calls from two Botswana presidents and an ambassador.
“I am very grateful to have dressed the ambassador of Botswana, Tebelelo Seretse, in Washington D.C. She was photographed with US president Barack Obama… I could never have imagined that my clothes would reach the White House.”
Then in 2012, came a chance of a lifetime. Dambe won a national competition and got the opportunity to design the uniforms for the Botswana Olympic team.
Although Dambe would like to make a name for herself on the international scene, such as some of her favorite designers Stephane Rolland, Victoria Beckham and Ralph Lauren, she would also like to conquer Africa.
“I want my business to branch out into the African market. This is where I was born… it would really mean a lot to me if my clothes are appreciated here at home, be it South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe or Botswana, I would be very happy.”
For now, Dambe is happy and back working in Botswana. With her sketchpad in hand she hopes her clothes will fly off the shelves faster than Usain Bolt flies off the starting block.   FL

Tag: Botswana

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