Last Friday, LEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the new initiative with partners who include the Botswana Chamber of Mines, Ministry of Agriculture, the European Union (EU) and the Joint Action Support towards Industrialisation and Productive Sectors (SIPS).
SIPS is a SADC Secretariat programme supported by the EU and the German government to facilitate the expansion of regional value chains and promote dialogue between the private and the public sector.
GLOVPRO will focus on producing locally made, ready to use industrial leather personal protective equipment for the local market, replacing the imports that the country has been dependent upon for a long time.
The first cohort of 15 Batswana taken under GLOVPRO will go through nine months of training.
“This partnership comprises three months of technical training supported by SIPS, three months business skills training jointly by the partnerships together with LEA and another three months of mentoring programme where LEA will be providing oversight of the trainees,” deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Mbakiso Morapedi said.
The training will take place at the LEA Gaborone Leather Industries Incubator, which has been revamped to meet the requirements of the newly formed initiative.
One of the trainees, Tsholofelo Kgosana described GLOVPRO as an opportunity provided by LEA to make something out of leather.
“I am really happy to be one of the first people to be chosen for this training and this will be great expansion to what I already know in making leather personal protective equipment,” she said.
LEA’s acting CEO, LEA Godfrey Molefe stated that the partnership amongst the various stakeholders will reap a greater good for ordinary citizens, a country that continues to battle with unemployment.
He said GLOVPRO is the right tool to fight against unemployment, as it equips trainees with leather manufacturing skills for entrepreneurship.
Molefe further explained that GLOVPRO would help reduce the importation bill that Botswana battles against, while contributing to enhanced value chains.
“We are currently exporting raw hides to other countries and we hope that this partnership between these stakeholders will change this and we will be the ones exporting the finished products,” he said.
Molefe expressed confidence that GLOVPRO will yield great results as the cooperating partners have pumped in considerable resources to make a success out of the initiative.
“Leather is a by-product of the meat industry which we are excelling really well in and we believe this project will be a success that can be harnessed to create plenty of jobs,” Molefe said.
