BWMADE launches first digital market
Isaac Pinielo | Monday September 14, 2015 18:00
During a media briefing held at the First Steps Venture Centre (FSVC), CEO of Intellegere Holdings, Itumeleng Garebatshabe said the digital shop platform was created in response to several challenges faced by Batswana in creative fields trying to get their product out to wider markets.
“For instance in the music industry, digital proves to be an efficient way of distributing music,” he said.
He explained that BWMADE is a revolutionary new platform that features five different digital shops to address various types of products that Batswana have to sell.
“The shops will address music, film, book, fashion and crafts industries. We live in an age where the world is our market and BWMADE is a portal that brings this market directly to our retailers,” he said.
Garebatshabe also added that the Botswana fashion designers would also be able to take advantage of keeping their overheads low by not having to pay rent for a physical boutique.
He said handicraft artisans would be able to share their wares with African art lovers globally.
He said an annual subscription model is expected to help sustain BWMADE, which gives retailers the security to know that their store stays open 24 hours a day.
He added that there will be small variations in the subscription models for the different industries, in line with their particular needs.
“The digital music store will for instance offer artists a subscription rate of P1,000 per album with a discount of 20 percent for artists who post five or more albums.
The artist will retain 100 percent of the fees from sales as well as retain the copyright to their music,” he said.For customers, he noted, there are 10 payment methods, which the digital store offers, making it a highly accessible service.
Payment methods will include being able to pay through credit card, selected debit cards, mobile money platforms like MyZaka and Orange Money, as well as through the Post Office and electronic transfers.
Garebatshabe further said besides giving Batswana creatives a platform to share their products with the world, they aim to create at least 20 to 40 jobs in marketing, store management and website maintenance.
He said looking to the future BWMADE has much potential for growth in Africa, where it is looking at tapping into the 106 million Orange customer-base on the continent. “This is possible through our interface with the Orange billing system, which can be accessed across 13 African countries. We are very proud to be able to bring the best of Botswana creative products to Africa and the world,” he said.