Africa-Press – Botswana. Women in Business Association (WIBA) has appreciated Wilderness Safari Company’s commitment to transform business landscape for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) across Botswana.
WIBA chairperson, Ms Christinah Leshego made the remarks when giving a vote of thanks during the just ended suppliers’ expo, which attracted various suppliers from different areas across the country, saying the company was a champion of inclusive economic growth.
She appreciated that the company opened its supplier list to SMMEs saying that was not only a procurement decision, but an investment in their collective future.
“By intentionally creating space for smaller enterprises in your value chain, you are doing more than sourcing products and services. You are building legacies, nurturing innovation and levelling the playing field in an economy where SMMEs are the backbone of sustainable development,” she added.
Ms Leshego further said the expo would empower SMMEs to scale their operations, refine products and gain exposure needed to compete in diverse markets.
For the businesses, she said access to their network was not just an opportunity but a catalyst for growth, resilience and market relevance.
She acknowledged the Wilderness for cultivating future industry leaders through the expo.
The company, she said had also proved that large corporations could drive inclusive growth and that mentorship and market access could transform SMMEs from being participants to partners.
“You are doing a commendable job to enable enterprises develop products of global standard, unlocking doors to regional and international markets. Wilderness board chairperson, Mr Kabelo Binns said the expo was not just bigger, but deeper and they deliberately expanded it into a two-day format focusing on showcasing and supplier engagement through a workshop dedicated to capacitation, mentorship, and real knowledge-sharing with vendors to reinforce opportunities in the tourism industry, value chain and theirs as well as their expectations.
“This is a deliberate move to now ‘up-the-ante’ in delivering on our empower impact pillar because opportunity without capability is short-lived. We want Batswana not just to access our supply chain but to succeed within it. To scale our impact and continue creating value, we too must be able to operate sustainably and that means we, as Wilderness, also need strong partners who believe in this journey with us,” said Mr Binns.
He reiterated that they wanted partners who not only helped them remain in business, but empowered them to do so in a way that uplifted communities, supported citizen enterprise and protected the natural heritage.
He cited that the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with Stanbic Bank Botswana was the first-of-its-kind financing model that gives Wilderness nominated local suppliers access to commercial funding based on their contracts with the company.
Through the agreement the company was solving challenges that long stood in the way of citizens as they decried access to affordable, de-risked financing and “this model is already showing results as we are seeing more local procurement, stronger businesses, and a healthier tourism value chain overall”.
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