SMEs urged to tap into India experience
Botswana, a developing country, can learn a lot from India’s much more developed Small and Medium Enterprise ( SMEs) sector, Botswana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Lemogang Kwape has said.
India’s economy is driven by SMEs with millions of businesses contributing signif icant ly to employment creation, government revenue and poverty alleviation, especially in farming, irrigation and retailing, Information and Communications Technology ( ICT) as well as medical supplies. “Engaging with businesses in India can provide a platform for Botswana’s small enterprises to draw experiences and best practices, with a view to fulfil the goal of creating a sustainable, technology- driven and commercially viable, vibrant micro and small enterprise sector with strong manufacturing industry targeting export markets,” said the minister.
There are over 40 million SMEs in India who contribute over 40 percent
to industrial production.
“Botswana has learnt a lot from India on how to deploy small scale technologies in order to grow the economy, especially in small scale manufacturing, through rapid incubation projects targeting out- ofschool youth.”
The minister also added that, “India has also done well in the production of farm technologies and utilization of the same at all levels of production, especially in empowering small scale farmers.
Botswana continues to receive such inputs from India for our agricultural and manufacturing sectors as well as the use of solar systems in our farms.”
Kwape further explained that, the country will continue to explore India’s innovative ways of using technology in the agriculture sector.
The country will use the knowledge acquired to address food security, to boost poverty eradication efforts as well as addressing the adverse effects of climate change.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister has indicated that, there are many other opportunities which Botswana can benefit from, especially in the broader economic landscape.
“As the third largest economy after China and Japan in Asia, India has undoubtedly developed into a competitive open- market economy. Economic liberalization measures, including industrial deregulation, privatization of state- owned enterprises, and reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in India in the early 1990s and served to accelerate the country’s growth,” stated Kwape.
Botswana can, therefore, learn much from India citing a range of economic opportunities that exist between the two countries, from agriculture, textiles, finance and banking, to insurance, education, health, engineering, to name but a few.
“India has a population of roughly 1.3 billion consumers, and companies doing business with India thus have the potential, not only to expand their business; but also contribute to job creation and economic growth in Botswana.”
There are over 8,000 people of Indian origin in Botswana who form part of Botswana’s cosmopolitan life.