BITC to host Global Expo for future-forward economy
Staff Writer | Tuesday November 1, 2022 06:00
The four-day expo which will start on Tuesday will feature the #PushaBW forum, business-to-business meetings, networking sessions, workshops, business matchmaking as well as exhibitions.
According to Executive Director – Brand Management Kutlo Moagi, their main targeted sector is manufacturing.
“The need to develop a diversified and robust manufacturing sector is a key priority in our government efforts to identify potential growth areas beyond the exploitation of its mineral wealth, which has been central to its transformation into a middle-income country, but which at the same time makes it susceptible to the vagaries of a fickle global economic order,” she said.
Opportunities presented by the manufacturing sector cover a wide array of sectors such as food and beverages, textiles and garments, jewellery making, and metal and metal products amongst others. “New and emerging sectors and industries include STREAM – Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
This year both the University of Botswana and Botswana International University of Science and Technology will be showcasing some of their top innovations at the Global Expo,” she said.
BITC has managed to register 200 registered exhibitors, the majority being Batswana, and the rest coming from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Egypt, India, and Indonesia. “We are expecting around 5,000 people to visit the Botswana Conference and Exhibition centre throughout the week.
People can physically get to the grounds and attend the expo and some can do so virtually,” Moagi said. The keynote speaker at the expo is Professor Benedict Okechukwu, president and chairman, AfriXimbank. Global Expo Botswana is the country’s premier international multi-sectoral business-to-business exhibition that is managed by BITC on behalf of government.