Chenzwinila Fashions wins cash at World Intellectual Property day
Chendzimo Nkwilimba of Chenzwinila fashions won five thousand Pula (P5000.00) cash at the World Intellectual Property day commerarions which was held recently in Francistown.
Nkwilimba who was contesting with other participants by displaying their products on the celebration said her brand makes hats fascinators, handbags, jewelery and covering shoes.
She told Vibe that she benefited a lot on that day as she was able to sell some of her products and she took orders from customers as she was able to market herself. She further said that World Intellectual Property day had taught her how to protect her brand with the assistance of the Companies Intellectual Properties Authority (CIPA) and also taught her the importance of protecting her creative offerings.
“The information that I got from CIPA I will use it to protect my creativity and as a winner I am so happy with the price as I will be able to buy material to improve it,” she said. Speaking at the event, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mmusi Kgafela, said the creative industries play a significant role in IP creation in Botswana.
Kgafela shared some of the initiatives that the government has in place to support and encourage the development of a more vibrant local creative sector. He noted that his ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development (MYSC), is currently putting the final touches on the National Strategy for the Creative Industries. The five-year strategy will see the industry coordinated from one central body, the the National Arts Council. Kgafela also said that the strategy will also facilitate for the creative industries to have improved access to funding as well as increased capacity building initiatives. “These initiatives are intended to improve the industry’s access to market and its international competitiveness, and it is my express wish that young creatives will fully exploit them so that in the near future we will start to see infrastructure, employment and wealth creation booming as a result of the full utilisation of the talent and creativity that is plentiful in Botswana,” he said.