Anglo America CEO, Mark Cutifani
The Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) has informed the business community, investors, policy makers and other interested parties that the biennial National Business Conference (NBC) will be held in Maun on 23rd -26th November 2014.
The event brings together top government and business leaders to formulate new ideas for making Botswana’s firms internationally competitive under the Theme,“Opening Botswana to the World: Attracting FDI and ensuring that Botswana’s firms can compete in the global Economy”.
Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive Officer of global mining group Anglo American Plc. will be the keynote speaker. His experience of doing business in different jurisdictions across the world such as South Africa, Canada, Brazil and Chile and getting to know what works and does not, is set to stimulate frank discussions on creating the right environment for Botswana companies.
The NBC recognises that Botswana’s main challenge is now to move away from historical dependence on rough diamonds exports to an economy where companies successfully export a much wider, more diversified range of goods and services.
The choice of theme reflects the central role that an “outward looking” orientation plays in the economy given that Botswana has reached its current upper-middle income status as a result of export-led growth. The theme also reflects international experience where all successful episodes of sustained growth in developing countries have been export-led.
The theme captures the need for urgent steps to integrate into the global economy. However, global economic integration is broad; it means not just more exports but more imports, greater labour mobility – both inward and outward – and flows of investment from the rest of the world into Botswana, and vice versa.
The NBC will also deal with some perceptions that Botswana is increasingly “closed for business” vis a vis the rest of the world, and becoming less open to global economic linkages although historically the economy has been very open to external economic connections.
As per tradition the NBC will be officially opened by the President of the Republic of Botswana.
For registrations please contact the business centre 3915567/3184707.
