UB Business Clinic undertakes a road show

The road show is the second such endeavour for the Business Clinic, which undertook the first one in 2007 during which it was clearly revealed to the students that Batswana still lack information on available entrepreneurship resources, which affect their enthusiasm towards starting businesses. It is for this reason that The Business Clinic members are undertaking the same activity with a view to continue cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship in response to the government of Botswana's wish to diversify the nation's economy and empower its citizens. A team of 30 business clinic students from various departments in the Faculty of Business have been selected to participate in this exercise.

One of the strategic priorities for the University of Botswana is to promote engagement with society, private sector and encourage academic entrepreneurship. In order to achieve this goal the Faculty of Business, through the Business Clinic has among its objectives, undertaken to establish new entrepreneurial partnerships with business, industry, education, civic organisation, etc. The Business Clinic's primary role is to help small and medium-size companies with the basic, but critical, business elements, enabling the students to engage the community at large.

Through the road shows, the UB Business Clinic aims to cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship amongst the society and for Business Clinic Members to share the entrepreneurial and business management skills they have acquired at UB, with the general public.

Other objectives of the roadshow are to provide free consultation in the villages and/towns visited, provide information on basic management, opportunity identification, and many other business oriented topics as well as to sensitise residents of Botswana, particularly the youth, on available entrepreneurship programmes.

Topics to be discussed during the road show, will include among others; starting up a business, financing the business, marketing the business, company registration and business plan formation. In terms of mobilising people to attend talks, the students will be working with Botswana National Youth Culture, Culture and Youth Department and Ghanzi Farmer's Association.

This will be achieved through networking with Polytechnic of Namibia's Center for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) where they will engage in seminars, workshops and charity work endeavors. The highlight will be a visit to the Botswana High Commissioner. The students will be in Namibia from 10th to the 12th of December returning on the 13th of December.