FNBB CEO orders probe into Itsose business competition
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FNBB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Steven Bogatsu
First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Steven Bogatsu has instructed the bank to investigate the fracas relating to Itsose business competition through which the bank was to finance some business projects to enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship in Botswana.
The aim of FNB Itsose business competition was to “fast track the start-up and growth of businesses with great potential and support their long term success” and to “facilitate the provision of funding to entrepreneurs who meet the criteria of the competition’s funding partners.”
The projects who were expected to be funded emanated from the last 10 front-runners with the business plans out of 2 800 applicants who have thrown their hats in the ring for the then seemingly lucrative and promising competition.
Itsose business competition was initiated under the tenure of the then bank CEO, Danny Zandamela who then passed the baton to Lorato Boakgomo and lately Bogatsu. Bogatsu is said to be unversed on how the competition ravelled since its inception as he was yet to rise to the helm of the bank when it started.
Bogatsu orders a full investigation onto the matter following a Weekend Post exposé earlier in February where there were complaints from some competition winners to the effect that they had not received funding as promised.
It is understood that he has instructed his subordinate to lead the investigation and report back to management.
“Bogatsu gave a directive to the Director of Business to investigate what exactly transpired with the Itsose business project that has led to the current hullabaloo; leading to some of our clients not being assisted according to client specifications,” a highly placed source who preferred anonymity hinted.
Through the inception of the project in 2008, initially close to 2 800 participants had entered the competition and out of that number only 100 were selected and taken through training and development. They were then allocated 3 weeks to craft their business proposals which were later presented before a panel of judges in which only 10 winners with the best proposals emerged.
The ten winners were Thabo Ntshinogang, Setaung Setaung, Moagi Kelerile, Tumo Kgopo, Thomas Bika, Elliot Phindela, Eric Malefu, Kefentse Masimolole, Tiroyaone Barungwi and Darryl Ellitson.
Information reaching this publication also suggests that there was a secretive 40 million pula which may have been set aside by the bank for the funding of the 10 winners. It is understood that at the time, the money was reserved to finance those proposals as they were regarded as “special projects” that needed to be pursued and be supported.
At the time, FNBB Head of Business Banking, Tsholofelo Kokorwe had stated that 21% of the finalists entered business ideas in the field of Agriculture, 6% in Tourism, 19% in Services, 19% in Manufacturing and the rest in other sector, and that more than half the entrants came from places outside Gaborone.
Projects that could not receive funding through the competition include a condom dispenser, beekeeping, waste management, a piggery business, advertising, a sports academy, a driving school and safari and toll gates among others.
One of the 10 winners, Thabo Ntshinogang could not hide his disappointment with the FNBB and stated, “yes I was one of the last 10 winners. Owaii! Indeed they (FNBB) reneged on their promise. We only received laptops, cell phones and P10 000.”
According to Ntshinogang, even Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) was supposed to assist them find mentors and funding, but they failed dismally.
“I don't mind being part of this story because I believe all the organisations which were involved in the competitions didn't seem serious about the whole thing,” he further lamented.
Another competition winner, Tumo Kgopo, who FNB claimed to have funded was allegedly harassed after he got the money which was “way below” what his business needed.
However, just this week, FNBB Director of Marketing and Communications, Obonye Malope told WeekendPost in an e-mail enquiry that, “two citizen-owned companies that participated in the competition were funded; however, in compliance with our standard banking regulations and responsible practice, we cannot disclose private details of our customers. As a responsible organisation, we uphold the confidentiality of our customers’ information in utmost regard.”
That notwithstanding, this publication has it on good authority that, Tumo Kgopo was the only one funded albeit with a little amount. He was apparently funded with P167 000 while his project of waste management needed close to 3 million pula to take off and sustain itself.
Another winner that FNBB claims to have funded is Tiroyaone Barungwi who it turns out was never funded.
Malope also insisted that LEA may be a better place to seek such data as this (Itsose competition) was a LEA Programme. She pointed out that “as previously stated, the remaining eight contestants were referred to LEA for advice and alternative funding opportunities.”
When efforts were made to solicit a comment from LEA Chief Executive Officer, Tebogo Matome, he was said to be in a meeting. Matome has been steering the ship at LEA since its inception in 2007.
In the FNB Itsose business competition, LEA provided mentoring and monitoring of the projects. The University of Botswana Business Clinic also participated to ensure business coaching and Sunday Standard also assisted with promotion and publicity for the business competition. FNB was said to be tasked with financing the projects.
The FNBB Director of Marketing and Communications explained that they are in the business of responsible lending and thus do not prescribe to providing loans that would potentially cripple a beneficiary.
“This would be irresponsible of us to do so and further more would be irresponsible in the eyes of our shareholders and, most importantly, to those we lend to,” she maintained.
According to Malope, it is rather regrettable that WeekendPost would suggest that FNBB has created a “Fiasco” when in fact the opposite is true. “We stood up when LEA asked us to get involved, as we believe it is important to help SMMEs in Botswana grow,” she highlighted in the response.
Conversely Malope stated ambiguously that, “we wish to clarify that this competition was not a donation, but was simply meant to provide Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME’s) with the correct framework to have a fair chance at success.”
The adjudication processes, according to her was made clear in their terms and conditions which all participants were furnished with-that winners would still need to undergo the normal credit application for funding.
Section 8 of the competition terms and conditions stated that, “I accept and agree that funding is not guaranteed even if I win the competition. And while FNBB will endeavour to fund my proposal, any such funding is subject to satisfactorily conclusion of a due diligence investigation or any other investigation which FNBB may deem necessary; furthermore any funding shall be subject to the negotiation and conclusion of an agreement between myself/ourselves and FNBB.”
The FNBB spokesperson maintained that they want SMME’s to succeed so they are able to contribute to the economy and most importantly, to service the loans they take out without undue stress to their businesses. She said they are also big believers that financial institutions should not be too quick to put SMMEs into debt.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.