While most entrepreneurs choose to open their business ventures in towns, B&M Garments, a textile manufacturing company has defied the odds by setting up in Shashe near Tonota.
The textile sector has over the years gone through some of its worst challenges, owing to the high costs of production and low efficiency.
The sector was also not spared by the global economic recession between 2008 and 2010, which saw many workers losing their jobs and exports declining. B&M is strategically located along the Francistown – Tonota road and has created a lot of employment opportunities for Batswana, especially women.
In an interview with BOPA recently, the company managing director, Mr Krishna Chinniah said that they started their business in January 2000 and had been operating for 15 years now.He stated that they were approached by the Ministry of Trade and BEDIA in 1998 to invest in rural areas as there was more manpower in villages than urban areas hence they settled for Shashe, where there was an empty building which they ultimately bought in November 1999.
The company specialises in clothing material, from men, ladies, children’s knit wear to men and boys underwear. Mr Chinniah also mentioned that they import their raw material such as cotton from India and Lesotho while they get their chemicals which include dye from South Africa.
Consequently, he highlighted that their major customers are mainly clothing shops which include, Mr Price, Style, Foschini, Exact, Fashion Express, Keedo (SA), Edgars and Truworths.When they started operating, the managing director said they had 800 Batswana employees in 2000 until 2008 because by then their main customers were European countries and the United States of America (USA).
However, due to the economic meltdown in their prime markets they were forced to cut down their employees to 350 as they were now focusing on the regional market which included South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
“The textile sector is very technical, which makes it difficult for us to find skilled labour and we are often forced to train the unskilled,” he said.He raised a concern regarding delays in the acquisition of work permit.
He also complained about the high cost of services.In addition, he decried the fact that some trained employees sometimes leave with the skills they acquired which becomes a drawback to the company.
According to a 2013 Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) paper titled, Key Issues in the Textile and Clothing Sector in Botswana, the development of the textile and clothing export sector is vital to the economic interests of Botswana and provides an important source of semi-skilled employment, which alleviates poverty , especially for women and has generated significant export revenue.
The report, further mentions that the sector has traditionally benefitted from a number of international trade instruments such as the Southern African Customs Union tarrifs, quotas and export incentives, the African Growth and Opportunity and European Union markets.
Source : BOPA