Established in Selebi-Phikwe with a cutting edge plant, the company has asserted itself as a trailblazing firm with the ability to produce a plethora of gases in both liquid and gaseous states.
Oxygas is a 100% citizen owned firm operating in the SPEDU region, with the aim of creating meaningful jobs in the area and beyond.
In an interview, Oxygas managing director, Keamogetse Molebatsi said the journey to the birth of the company, began with the magic of conversation. He vividly recalled asking his now co-shareholders why trucks conveying gas had awkward shapes and this inquisitiveness would later lead to research and the creation of Oxygas.
“We are just passionate people who are confident that Batswana possess equal competence in talent and ability like any other people around the globe,” Molebatsi told Business Monitor.
“After our interest in the gas industry, we started to ponder why our country by then was 100% dependent on imported gas for both its industry needs and medical needs.
“We saw this as an acute danger to our development and health security.”
The Oxygas plant in Selebi-Phikwe has the capacity to store 150 kilolitres of oxygen and has the capacity to produce acetylene and nitrogen. The ability to produce these gases, according to Molebatsi, is a move to mitigate national security when it comes to gas demand and an effort to place Botswana on the map as a leading exporter of gases in the continent.
The plant was set up to the tune of over P82 million and was financed by the country’s leading development finance institutions, the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA).
On April 2023, the company sent of its first ever consignment to the shores of Namibia affirming its target of establishing a significant regional footprint.
However, the journey has not all been easy.
“We have our own fair share of challenges, the first one being market access because there is so much doubt that comes with us operating this business as a 100% citizen owned enterprise,” Molebatsi said.
He added that global macroeconomic instability has also affected their operations as the price volatility of inputs has meant that Oxygas has had to revise its pricing frequently.
“The Russia-Ukraine war has shot up prices of inputs in the global markets.
“When we were constructing our plant, our contractors kept on increasing prices because of the volatility in the market,” he said.
