#PushaBW goes on cross-country tour
Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) in collaboration with select retailers will embark on a cross-country roadshow to engage local producers. The move is aimed at bridging the gaps identified by retailers and ways of affording local producers shelf-space. Through the tour, challenges faced by local producers and service providers will be addressed, particularly those relating to market access for their products and services.
The #PushaBW campaign tour will be done in partnership with Sefalana, Trans Cash and Carry, Choppies, Fours, Woolworths, Pay Less, Pick ‘n Pay and Square Mart.
Other partners in the roadshow are Fairgrounds Holdings, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and Local Enterprise Authority.
Speaking during the #PushaBW roadshow campaign launch on Friday, BITC CEO Keletsositse Olebile acknowledged retailers for their commitment to partnering with government and ensuring the continued listing of local products in their stores.
“After an ongoing three-year journey, we have been seeing a steady increase in the uptake of local products,” he said. The CEO further said the campaign intends to create more consumption in local products, in turn, creating demand for more, which then triggers the need for an increase in production, resulting in growth and employment creation. On his part, the acting Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Mabuse Pule said the roadshow has been brought about by the fact that most retailers are not aware of what is readily available.
He added that on the other hand, it came about because some local producers are not aware of the requirements while others struggle to meet those requirements for listing by the retailers. “These requirements include amongst others, meeting certain quality standards, consistent and continuous supply as well as competitive pricing,” he said. According to Pule, the #PushaBW initiative seeks to reduce the import bill, which is currently over P85 billion, through the uptake of locally produced goods and services. In addition, he said the campaign further seeks to improve the production capacity of local producers, which directly contributes towards the creation of more job opportunities and economic diversification.
The #PushaBW campaign was launched in 2018, as a marketing initiative with an ambitious objective of driving a national paradigm shift towards the uptake of local products, to create employment and grow the national economy. The campaign targets three main key players being the producer, retailer and the consumer; to improve the quality of local products, to help producers have more of these products on the shelves of local stores, and for the consumer to consciously choose to buy the products.