BITC holds Retailers and Producers summit
Francistown will be a beehive of activity this week with local retailers and producers jostling for space at the Francistown Retailers & Producers Summit and PushBW SMME Expo.
The two-day event, from Thursday 17th to Friday 18th at Adansonia Hotel is an initiative by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) in partnership with major local retailers such as Woolworths, Trans Africa Cash & Carry, Choppies, The Square Mart, Pick N Pay, Sefalana and Shoprite.
Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) will also be a part of the historic national road show that will engage local producers across the country.
In an interview with The Voice, BITC Director Business Services – Francistown, Gaorekwe Gaorekwe, said the road show has been ongoing, having started in Gaborone on 25th February. He said for Francistown, BITC decided to make it bigger by extending it over two days to include the summit.
“The summit was inspired by the need to create a platform where both local producers and retailers can have a dialogue,” he said.
One of the serious challenges faced by most local producers is limited access into retail stores. Gaorekwe said producers have sometimes complained that when they approach retailers individually, the reception is not always positive.
“It is for that reason that BITC then came up with this initiative of inviting both producers and retailers to come under one roof and discuss issues relating to access, quality and consistency of supply,” Gaorekwe told The Voice.
He further said that BITC then decided to expand the show to include panel discussions focusing on topics that are important to the business community.
“The summit is therefore a platform to come and learn as well as to exchange ideas,” stated the BITC boss.
He revealed that the summit is open to anyone who is in business, especially those in manufacturing and horticultural production who wish to supply retail stores.
“It is a platform for dialogue. Those who have had difficulties reaching these stores can now come and have direct access. Our hope is that, at the end of the summit, we will see increased uptake of local products in stores, something which the #PushaBW campaign aims to achieve,” stated Gaorekwe.
Gaorekwe noted that there has been a long standing challenge of the inability of local producers to meet the listing requirements of retailers.
He said issues to do with quality, product packaging and, in some cases consistency of supply, have been raised before.
“We’ve also noted great improvement in the recent years when local retailers would also take it upon themselves to educate their suppliers on the quality they expect and how to meet it. This is another step towards ensuring we consistently reach the listing requirements,” Gaorekwe said.