Jennifer Makgabenyana, the Director of Commercial FNBB
BSE working on a term sheet for De Beers
FNBB believes BSE plays a crucial role in corporatising
FNBB wants alumni SMEs listed on the BSE
Institutions are expressing growing interest in the Tshipidi Mentorship Program, a flagship initiative of the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) aimed at corporatising small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The program is designed to equip SMEs with the skills and knowledge needed to list debt or equity on capital markets, fostering growth and financial sustainability.
BSE working on a term sheet for De Beers Partnership
Kopano Bolokwe, acting CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange, recently announced that the De Beers-Stanford Seed Program has expressed interest in partnering with the exchange.
The program which is a partnership between the mining conglomerate and Stanford University also aims to support entrepreneurs and equip them to grow, scale and contribute to employment creation and broader objectives of economic growth and development across three countries; Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
Bolokwe said the BSE is working on a term sheet that would guide this kind of partnership and believes it’s an opportunity for SMEs that could list.
“They are already operational entities.”
Through the Stanford program, De Beers has partnered with 91 entrepreneurs across Southern Africa, who have managed to scale their businesses and are continually applying Stanford Graduate School of Business tools to grow. In Botswana, 46 firms have participated through the Program raising revenue of revenues of $21 million, capital of $24 million and creating 676 jobs.
De Beers’ spokesperson Otsile Mabeo said the partnership with Stanford is critical to helping support the development of strong businesses that can scale and contribute towards job creation, skills development and sustainable economic growth.
FNBB believes BSE plays a crucial role in corporatising
Bolokwe also revealed that First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) has expressed interest in incorporating elements of the Tshipidi Mentorship Program into its Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Program.
He noted that the bank's concern is that they have funded businesses benefiting from Citizen Economic Empowerment over the past five years, yet these businesses have not experienced significant growth.
“The owners of the businesses have just operated in a mode of hand-to-mouth.”
FNBB believes that the BSE can play a crucial role in corporatising businesses and enhancing funding efforts. By equipping these enterprises with the necessary skills, the BSE can prepare them to raise equity or debt financing through an exchange.
150 enrolled in FirstPreneur Programme
FNBB recently launched the FirstPreneur Development Programme in partnership with TheNeoHub to foster growth and innovation within the small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in Botswana. The FirstPreneur is a comprehensive two-year programme designed to nurture, support, and accelerate entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses.
FNBB had invited business owners who are actively running their enterprises and are eager to see growth. The bank conducted a thorough shortlisting and interview process, ultimately selecting 150 participants from various industries. FNBB focused on attracting youth, women, and differently-abled individuals to demonstrate business potential across diverse demographics.
“Most of the time we know that people start the business and along the way it fails. Sometimes it fails because the person needed support from those who had expertise,” Jennifer Makgabenyana, the Director of Commercial at the bank said.
As she responded to a question during the bank’s results presentation, she explained that through the processes that included boot camps adding that “right now we know what they need to run their businesses”.
“We know as a bank what kind of support we can also bring on board. The intention here is to ultimately arrive at a point where these people are aware of how they run their businesses, they know their financial needs, and what needs to happen for them to be producing.”
Makgabenyana stated that the bank aims to provide these participants with opportunities to showcase and sell their products in the market, including avenues for exporting some of their offerings.
FNBB wants SMEs listed on the BSE
“We have an advisory board in the RMB team. We want these people to go to a place where RMB people can even play the advisory role of how they can expand their businesses. But the ultimate goal is to them go to the Botswana Stock Exchange through the Tshipidi initiative,” she said.
“We felt the need to be intentional in supporting these businesses and ensure we can take them to the level of listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange. That’s our dream.”
BSE's pivotal role in SME development
The BSE believes it is playing a pivotal role in SME development through its flagship Tshipidi program, having recently concluded three successful sessions this year.
“We are looking towards graduation ceremony.”
BBS Bank was part of this year’s cohort and is registered on the Serala OTC board. Bolokwe noted that it is set to graduate with a potential IPO on the main board.
“There are a lot of other companies from other sectors within this Tshipidi mentorship program that we are helping to corporatise so that they can become listable entities of the stock exchange.”
With interest from more institutions, he said they are considering “moving to what you call Tshipidi 2.0”.
Komentáře