Africa-Press – Botswana. New entrepreneurs are struggling with financial literacy and business skills, which often results in poor financial management and underestimating expenses, says Assistant Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Baratiwa Mathoothe.
Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, he said the major challenges contributing to these failures included the volatility of the tourism sector and continued economic uncertainty.
Mr Mathoothe said external factors like pandemics and natural disasters, such as floods and droughts also played a role.
Additionally, he noted that some businesses faced difficulties with the stringent requirement to list with reputable chain stores, particularly in water purification projects, where they lacked support from chain shops that already have in-house brands.
He told Parliament Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) has funded 774 businesses in the Chobe region from 2014 to 2024, disbursing a total of P752 660 259.06.
Out of these, 426 businesses were currently operational across various sectors. Regarding the amount of loans paid, Mr Mathoothe said a total amount approved for these operational businesses stood at P260,959,155.00.
However, he also noted that during the same period, 46 businesses failed or were repossessed due to various reasons.
The assistant minister said the services sector accounted for 32 of these failures, while agribusiness had seven, manufacturing had five, and the property sector had two.
He said the remaining 302 businesses successfully completed their loan periods and this included various types of financing, such as short-term contract loans, tenders and purchase order financing.
Mr Mathoothe highlighted that the services sector has the highest number of active businesses, totaling 334.
This is followed by agribusiness with 66, manufacturing with 22, and property with four
He was responding to a question from the MP for Chobe, Mr Simasiku Mapulanga who wanted to know the number of businesses that have been funded in Chobe from 2014 to 2024 and how much was disbursed in the same period,
Mr Simasiku also asked about the number of operating businesses and the sectors, how many failed or have been repossessed and in which sectors, and the major challenges of those unsuccessful businesses.
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