Morupule Coal Mine (MCN) and Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) say they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) placing citizen economic empowerment at the heart of the mining value chain.
Speaking at the Gaborone signing recently, MCM CEO Edwin Elias pointed to results already delivered through the mine’s Citizen Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Programme: over P1 billion in cumulative spend directed to citizen owned enterprises, citizen procurement lifted from 29% to 53%, and 2,550 jobs sustained.
For his part, CEDA CEO Khalala Mokefane said the partnership’s approach is straightforward: capacitate first, then finance, building businesses that are ready for funding, contracts and growth.
CEDA brings its financing capability and enterprise development experience, while MCM brings market opportunities, industry knowledge and a supply chain through which citizen enterprises can grow.
Together the two institutions will extend supplier capacitation, unlock opportunities in agribusiness and manufacturing, and open access to long term capital, including a planned cluster vegetable farm to develop young agriculture entrepreneurs.
“The true measure of this partnership will not be the MoU itself, but what happens after today,” said Mokefane. “This MoU is our commitment to you, made concrete,” added Elias.
According to CEDA, the MoU is aimed at strengthening Citizen Economic Empowerment, Youth Economic Empowerment, Supplier Development, Enterprise Development and Entrepreneurship Development.
The partnership also brings together CEDA’s financing and enterprise development capabilities with MCM’s market opportunities, industry expertise and supply chain.
Through the partnership, the two organisations will work to identify and unlock opportunities for citizen-owned enterprises within the mining value chain and economic diversification sectors, with particular focus on areas such as agribusiness, manufacturing, supplier development and outsourced services.
The partnership will also support entrepreneurial and supplier capacitation, alongside appropriate funding solutions for qualifying citizen enterprises. A key initiative envisaged under the MoU is the development of a cluster vegetable farm, aimed at developing young entrepreneurs in primary production and agro-processing while connecting enterprise development to sustainable market opportunities.