BATSWANA WOMEN FIND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINESE PRODUCTS

An increasing number of young Batswana women is seizing an avalanche of business opportunities in the beauty and fashion industry provided by imported Chinese products. Even those without formal qualifications in the beauty and fashion industry, many of them told Xinhua in recent separate interviews that they are making a living with imported Chinese beauty products that are in high demand in Botswana. To Gaone Madibela, a 30-year-old selftaught phone technician, the industry is very lucrative compared to formal jobs in the sense that women across the globe always want to look beautiful and sophisticated fashion-wise.

“The earnings are more than sufficient, as they (earnings) have increased three times when compared to what I was getting while working,” said Madibela, who sells imported Chinese phone pouches and fitting screen protectors on the streets of Francistown, Botswana’s second-largest city. Her monthly income has increased to between 296 U.S. dollars and 444 U.S. dollars from a paltry 111 dollars which she was earning while working as a shop assistant at a grocery shop in the southern African country. According to Madibela, phone pouches which sell for 3.7 dollars and 5 dollars, depending on the quality of the phone, are in high demand in Botswana while she fits screen protectors for 26 dollars. “Experience has shown me that women can part with large sums of money for fashion and many of them want to carry smartphones that need screen protectors,” said Madibela, adding that this has brought her a lot of business. Faith Rukuro, 22, from Mabele village in the far northern part of Botswana, said she ventured full-time into the beauty industry after seeing opportunities in dealing with Chinese products. “I am now working as a nail technician. This came along after realizing that the products are easily accessible since most Chinese businesspeople bring these products into Botswana,” said Rukuro. With no qualification in beauty therapy, the techno-savvy Rukuro told Xinhua that she had relied on the YouTube platform to learn how to become a nail technician. Rukuro said Chinese beauty products are very cheap, especially if one orders online through Alibaba, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet and technology, hence the huge profit margins she and her competitors in the local beauty industry are enjoying. As a cost-cutting measure, Rukuro said she normally partners with friends and business associates when importing nail polishes and other necessities of her industry and shares import duty charges. Aobakwe Molefhi, 23, a beauty therapist with imported Chinese products, dreams of opening a beauty parlor that will specialize in massage therapy and other services. In her opinion, with the profits brought by Chinese beauty and fashion products, more Batswana women can make a living and have a better life. “My other dream is to establish a learning institution to empower my fellow citizens with the knowhow, especially women,” she said