PHIKWE CARNIVAL ON THE WAY
Tsholofelo Carnival promises to bring hope to the once lively town of Selebi Phikwe. The festival is hosted by Premium Nickel Resources Botswana ( PNRB), a company that has acquired part of the mines, formally owned by the BCL limited.
Environmental, Social and Governance Manager of PNRB, Shamil Agosi explained that PNRB is actively participating in the socio economic restoration and resurrection of the Selebi Phikwe region. Agosi said the carnival will have a host of activities that seek to revive the SPEDU region. The Carnival will begin on the 27th of September with a capacity building session for young aspiring entrepreneurs, Agosi noted. In the evening, there will be a session for these aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas which must revolve around enterprises that can add value to the SPEDU region.
Furthermore, Agosi explains that the 28th will be a capacity building day for Small Micro Medium Enterprises ( SMME). The SMME owners will be educated on various topics such as finance. In the evening there will be a Business to Business networking dinner for the SMME owners who underwent training earlier on the day. The networking dinner will be with big companies in the region which will give an opportunity to the SMME owners to forge new business deals and relationships.
The 29th will be slated for artists. Agosi noted that this day will be set aside for the arts sector. They will have artworks on display and on sale along with various activities for artists to showcase their talents. The 30th will be the carnival parade and on the very night there will be a music festival.
Agosi explained that there will also be a carnival Football Cup and the final of this football cup will be on the 1st of October at the Phikwe Stadium. The preliminary rounds of the cup have already begun.
“On a socio- economic level, this carnival is expected to generate business opportunities for singers, song writers, choreographers, costume builders and designers just to name a few.” Agosi explained that they aim to not only shed light on the immense talent in the Phikwe region but they want to help locals learn how to make a living with their work.
On the night of the festival, there will be an understudy MC alongside the highly acclaimed, HeyNyena. Agosi noted that they wanted to give an opportunity to someone in the SPEDU region to MC along with one of the finest MC’s in Botswana with the hope that the understudy will be able to experience the thrill of it all and learn how to entertain large audiences.