Leading cement manufacturer, PPC Botswana recently hosted Botswana Women In Construction (BOWICO) in a strategic meeting and tour of the cement manufacturing plant.
The BOWICO team mostly comprised of mentees that are students from different technical institutions who are looking forward to cutting their teeth in the industry.
During the engagement, the two entities discussed their operations, possible opportunities and potential strategic partnerships.
“We are hoping that this engagement will be the beginning of a strategic partnership that will help develop the country’s economy, create employment and grow Botswana further. Strategic Partnerships provide a competitive edge to businesses. Strategic partnerships will have a mutual promise of working for the betterment of each other. We believe that empowerment of other industries grows the country’s economic impetus. We have a keen interest in collaborating with women driven businesses, we have previously done so and this has created a number of opportunities,” said PPC Botswana Sales Manager, Cliff Alfred, adding he believes their combined efforts will grow the construction industry and also develop Botswana into a world-class country.
“Through such partnerships, we can guarantee industry growth, social entrepreneurship, skills development and a robust value chain as local manufacturers. All these efforts can ensure a viable economic impetus from the construction industry,” explained Alfred.
PPC Botswana’s CSI programs have seen them partner with local enterprises in different communities, these are Rapha Shammah in Kopong, How to Us ladies in Molepolole, widows in Kanye and many other projects. PPC Botswana pallets are repaired and acquired from local producers.
For her part, BOWICO Chairperson, Matshidiso Moile said it was extremely exciting to be engaging with PPC Botswana.
“We are looking forward to learning as much as we can from this strategic partnership. Firstly, we want our mentees to absorb PPC Botswana’s level of quality in production, this will help the ladies gain confidence when doing any form of job. We are looking forward to bearing fruits from this strategic relationship with PPC Botswana, this is also the time for the ladies to create relations, and find opportunities. During this engagement, we got to learn several important lessons on cement manufacturing and this is aligned with what we represent,” revealed Moile.