Careerpool Click-Click Boom! Your Connection To The World.
Business
Lebogang Motubudi
Account Manager, Careerpool
What makes the internet so amazing? For starters you can find information on anything and everything and it’s accessible to everyone without prejudice of who you are or where you are. With a few simple clicks of a keyboard you can connect with people from across the globe in nano-seconds. Click-click boom – you’re connected to the world.
Since the birth of the internet in 1991, it has become a place where millions of people can log into social networks such as Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter and share ideas, opinions and their lives with those closest to them.
The internet is still growing, and so are the sites that we visit on a daily basis. In Botswana there is one site in particular that has caught the attention of companies and job seekers alike, Careerpool Botswana.
Careerpool is our markets first online job board of its kind. The company seeks to become the central location for all jobs in Botswana. Vacancy information is collected from companies and delivered straight to the people that require it. The key here is the internet and the manner in which it has become such an integral part of our daily lives through mobile hardware like laptops, tablets and phones.
The fact that we always have these devices on or around our person gives the internet and websites like Careerpool greater power to simplify our lives. Instead of leaving the comfort of wherever you’re comfortable, be it home or at leisure with friends, you can now continue with your daily life knowing that proximity to these devices will ensure that you don’t miss out on your dream job.
There is so much information on the internet these days that it’s sometimes hard to keep up and really take advantage of it.
You can get onto the internet for hours every day for the rest of your life going through Instagram pictures, blogs on Tumblr, connecting with friends on Facebook and sharing your opinion on what’s trending in the world and not even reach a billionth of the information capacity the internet has to provide.
According to Blazepress, a website that looks at the most popular posts on the internet, over 6 billion hours of videos are watched on YouTube each month – that’s almost an hour a month for every person on the planet!
There’s so much information on the internet that it takes 1,000 computers to answer a single Google query in 0.2 seconds! It is for this very reason that Careerpool is such a welcome addition to the job search market.
Think of it as a tool that helps declutter job searching on the internet and makes it more focused for candidates. There is so much information that is available out there that it can become quite overwhelming and time consuming. Careerpool now becomes the job seekers personal assistant.
The personal assistant that fetches information from companies advertising vacancies across Botswana and delivers it directly to your portable device with minimal effort. It collects information and packages it neatly in a space where it is now manageable for candidates to discover and assess their interest – whilst providing them with instructions of how to apply.
The alternative is searching each and every company website to check for vacancy information.
A process that would have anyone gouging their eyes out in desperation and honestly speaking not all company websites are up-to-date. For those companies that aren’t on the internet, Careerpool provides an instant platform to become part of the triple-w information highway.
Knowing that when they advertise on Careerpool they are guaranteed that their job advert is going to a centralized location where it can be found by the relevant candidates.
This is not oversimplification, it’s a fact. With traffic numbers averaging 12,000 views per week employers can be assured that as Youtube is for videos, Twitter is for opinions and Tumblr is for blogs; our local market recognizes that Careerpool is for jobs. Don’t make the labour market swim upstream to find your vacancies. Don’t rest on your laurels either just because you have a company website.
By 2013 the internet had over a billion websites! Companies can simplify the process of candidates finding out about vacancies by advertising on Careerpool. So don’t have your vacancy get lost in the internet and decrease your chances of acquiring top talent.
They’re patiently waiting to hear their phone ping with a notification that their dream job has just opened up at your organization.
Don’t waste another minute, advertise on Careerpoolbotswana.com today and make the internet really work for you.
Business
Grit divests from Letlole La Rona
Grit Services Limited, a member of the pan African real estate group, London Stock Exchange listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is divesting from Letlole La Rona Limited (LLR), a local real estate company established by government investment arm Botswana Development Corporation over a decade ago.
The Board of Directors of Letlole La Rona Limited this week announced in a statement to Unitholders that Grit Services Limited (‘Grit’) has informed them of its intention to exit its investment in the company.
Grit has been a material shareholder in LLR since 2019. On 07 March 2023, Grit sold 6 421 000 linked units, representing 2.29% of the Company’s total securities in issue, at a market value of BWP 22 537 710.
This trade follows previous sales of 6.79% in December 2022, as communicated to Unitholders on 10 January 2023, as well as a further sale of 4.78% (representing 13 347 068 linked units) on 24 February 2023 to various shareholders.
In aggregate, Grit has sold 13.9% shareholding in the Letlole La Rona between December 2022 and March 2023, resulting in current shareholding of 11.25% in the Company.
Letlole La Rona said in the statement that the exit process will take place in an orderly manner so as to maintain stability of the Company’s share price.
The statement explained that Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with its decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than US dollar, Euro or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
“Grit has announced similar decisions pertaining to certain of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently. The Company would like to advise Unitholders that it remains focused on long-term value delivery to all stakeholders” LLR said
In July last year as part of their Go-to-Africa strategy Letlole La Rona acquired an initial 30% equity stake in Orbit Africa Logistics, with an option to increase this investment to 50%. OAL is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius, owning an industrial asset in a prime industrial node in Nairobi, Kenya.
The co-investment was done alongside a wholly owned subsidiary of London listed Grit. The Orbit facility is situated on a prime industrial site on Mombasa Road, the principal route south of Nairobi center, serving the main industrial node, the port of Mombasa and the industrial town of Athi River and is strategically located 11 kilometers south of the international airport and 9.6 kilometers from the Inland Container Depot.
Grit shareholding in Letlole La Rona was seen as strategic for LLR, for the company to leverage on Grit’s already existing continental presence and expand its wings beyond Botswana borders as already delivered by Kenya transaction.
Media reports have however suggested that LLR and Grit have since late last year had fundamental disagreements on how to go about the Go-to-Africa strategy amongst other things, fuelled by alleged Botswana government interference on the affairs of LLR.
Government through LLR founding shareholder – Botswana Development Corporation has a controlling stake of around 40 percent in the company. Government is the sole shareholder of Botswana Development Corporation.
Letlole La Rona recently released their financial results for the six months ended December 2022, revenue increased by 4% to P50.2 million from P48.4 million in the prior comparative six months, whilst operating profit was up 8% to P36.5 million. Profit before tax of P49.7 million was reported, an increase of 8% on the prior comparative six months.
“We are encouraged by the strong results, notwithstanding a challenging economic environment. Our performance was mainly underpinned by annual lease escalations, our quality tenant base and below average market vacancy levels, especially in our warehouse portfolio,” Kamogelo Mowaneng, Letlole La Rona Chief Executive Officer commented.
LLR reported a weighted average lease expiry period of 3.3 years and escalation rates averaging 6.8% per annum for the period ended 31 December 2022.Its investment portfolio value increased by 14% year-on-year to close the period at P1.4 billion, mainly driven by the acquisition of a 30% stake in OAL in July 2022.
The Company also recorded a significant increase in other income, predominantly due to foreign exchange gains on the OAL shareholder loan. “We continue to explore pipeline opportunities locally, and regionally in line with our Go-to-Africa strategy and our interest remains on value-accretive investments,” Mowaneng said.
An interim distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit was declared on the 6th of February 2023 for the half-year period to 31 December 2022, comprising of a dividend of 0.05 thebe and debenture interest of 9.06 thebe per linked unit which will be paid to linked unit holders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 24 February 2023.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.
Business
Food import bill slightly declines
The latest figures released by Statistics Botswana this week shows that food import bill for Botswana slightly declined from around P1.1 billion in November 2022 to around P981 million in December during the same year.
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