Barclays introduces lets get up and go for youth
Business
As part of efforts to address the numerous challenges that young Batswana face Barclays Bank Botswana has introduced a “let’s get up and go” motive for vulnerable youth in Ngamiland district.
Barclays Bank Botswana in partnership with UNAIDS and Project Concern International (PCI) has since December 2014 been implementing a Youth Education and Empowerment Project (YEEP) named Tweende which translate to “lets get up and go”. Barclays bank funded the one year project to the tune of 1 Million Pula. The project targets vulnerable young people aged between 18-35 years in the Ngamiland East District.
Other partners in the project include PCI Botswana, Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA), Youth in Business Botswana (YIBBO) and Ngamiland Council of Non- Governmental Organizations (NCONGO).
The aim of the project is to provide employability, income generating opportunities and also reduce youth vulnerability to social ills such as HIV/AIDS. According to Barclays bank the four facets of the Tweende project is to;
“Provide financial literacy education to the target of 750 youth who will be trained in financial management skills and also linked to financial services. Give training on social life skills to around 300 youths. Also in partnership with private companies and government some will be trained on employability skills through being placed in jobs. Teach youth entrepreneurship skills and increased opportunities with 50 youth being assisted with their businesses start and also provide mentoring to them.”
According to Barclays Bank, by the end of February 2015, the project had successfully implemented some of its aims with 826 youth reaching with basic financial literacy skills using Barclays’ financial literacy curriculum of money matters, surpassing the project target of 750 youth.
Also of the 826 who attended the financial literacy training, 687 passed a rigorous selection process to qualify for the next level of Aflateen that teaches them social and life skills, 354 has already graduated from Aflateen recently.
Tweende project was this week launched in Maun; the event attracted a number of public figures which among them was the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Thapelo Olopeng, United Nations Resident Coordinator Anders Pedersen, PCI Country Director Dorothy Tlagae and the Barclays Bank Botswana Managing Director Reinette Van Der Merwe.
At the launch, Barclays’ Van Der Merwe said that the Tweende project forms an integral part of the Barclays strategy on youth employability, enterprise and financial literacy skills which is the bank’s primary focus under its “five million young futures strategy” which is in its final lap. She added that Barclays aims to equip young people with skills that can help them be active and participating citizens in the development of the country.
“Unemployment is a major problem for the country and it can be a foundation for other social ills that impact on youth such as HIV/AIDS, alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy among others. This needs a multi pronged approach when addressing them. The project is also necessary for the country to be able to meet the goals of vision 2016 and the revised national youth policy that seeks to give youth every opportunity to reach their full potential as members of the society,” Van Der Merwe expressed.
According to 2011 population Census, Maun is the 3rd largest village in Botswana having a population of 60 263, with an additional 5 430 coming from surrounding villages. The youth aged 20 -34 years are reported to account for 56% of the population with 25% of them being unemployed. Also HIV prevalence in the Ngamiland district is reported to be at 13.5% (10.6% being males and 15.4 as females).
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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Business
Moody’s Reaffirms African Trade Insurance’s A3 Rating & Revises Outlook to Positive
Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has affirmed the A3 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) for the fifth consecutive year and changed the outlook from stable to positive.
Moody’s noted that the change in outlook to positive reflects the strong growth in ATI’s membership base – that has resulted in improved portfolio diversification, strengthened capital adequacy, and the good profitability despite the challenging operating environment. In addition, ATI benefits from its preferred creditor status (PCS) amongst sovereign member states which protects it from the risk of default by member sovereigns through securing recoveries against claims paid on guarantees.
The strong membership and equity growth are some of the key considerations for the consistent reinstatement of ATI’s A/Stable rating by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s rating, over the years. Also supporting the rating affirmation are; consistent improvement in financial performance, commitment of its shareholders who continue to uphold the preferred creditor status, its high quality and conservative investment portfolio as well as strong relationships with a number of global reinsurers that provide significant risk-bearing capacity.
With the change in outlook to “positive”, ATI is now better placed to provide enhanced support to its member countries, attract additional shareholding and grow its portfolio. The positive outlook is an indication that if ATI continues to demonstrate its strong underwriting performance and ability to recover claims under the preferred creditor arrangements, among other factors, an upward pressure towards an upgrade may be generated. The Moody’s press release can be accessed from here
Commenting on the rating, Africa Trade Insurance Chief Executive Officer Manuel Moses said: “This positive revision is in line with our 2023 – 2027 strategic objectives in which we set to improve our rating outlook to positive in the first year, and achieve an upgrade of at least “AA”/Stable rating by both Moody’s and S&P within this Strategic Plan period. We aim to achieve this by doubling our exposures and increasing our capital to more than USD1 billion.”
ATI’s mandate is to provide trade-credit and political risk insurance, as well as other risk mitigation products to its member countries and related public and private sector actors. These insurance products not only directly encourage and facilitate foreign direct investment as well as local private sector investment in our member countries, but also contribute to intra- and extra-African trade.
About The African Trade Insurance Agency
ATI was founded in 2001 by African States to cover trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. ATI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and, Surety Insurance. Since inception, ATI has supported US$78 billion worth of investments and trade into Africa. For over a decade, ATI has maintained an ‘A/Stable’ rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor’s, and in 2019, ATI obtained an A3/Stable rating from Moody’s, which has now been revised to A3/Positive.