Brand Africa attracts investors to Botswana

With a population of just over 1.2billion people, the African continenthas over the years sufferedfrom unfair perceptions by the rest of theworld as solely a place of confl ict, coupsand deadly diseasesIn a recent press briefi ng held at BotswanaInsurance Company the Chief ExecutiveOffi cer and founder of Brand Africa, AudraWilson-Max revealed that the perceptionabout Africa was about to change for thebetter through an initiative called African.iam.Explaining what Brand Africa is, she said,“it is an African network agency focused onthe value of branding and communicationas critical ingredients to build and developcompelling brands in Africa with social andcommercial infl uence being the main focus.Some of the brands we have worked on areGrow Zimbabwe, inspired by Zimbabwe.

 

This time around the brand we are workingon is that of Africa and being an African,”said Wilson-Max.She further said that African.iam will belaunched for the fi rst time this year in Botswanain October on the 28-29th along withBotswana200 which is a marketing and investmentplatform that positions Botswanaat the centre of a drive to unlock the potentialof the 200 markets and also escalate Botswana’slocal, regional, African and globalreach.“African.iam will focus on the developmentof African people, promotion of Africathe place and the celebration of African culture.We made a deliberate choice to launchboth events in Botswana and showcase thismodel place,” Wilson-Max said.

 

The line upof the two day event promises to attract influential people and delegates from the localas well international market in the sectorsof Mining, Finance, Insurance, Agriculture,Tourism and Travel, as well as Technology.Answering a question on whether Botswanawill be able to accommodate andhost large numbers from across the world,Wilson-Max said, “we are working with agroup of stakeholders to make sure that sufficient facilities are made available becauseone thing’s for sure, GICC (Gaborone InternationalConvention Centre) alone cannothost over 200 people at the same time.

 

Hotels,airlines, and many different stakeholderssuch as Botswana Insurance Company,HATAB (Hospitality and Tourism Associationof Botswana), BOCCIM (BotswanaConfederation of Commerce Industry andManpower), Botswana Innovation Hub, andBotswana Stock Exchange have partneredwith us to make this a reality.” Dziki Nganunu,Managing Director of Botswana InsuranceCompany and stakeholders’ chairpersonsaid Batswana could benefi t in anumber of ways from this launch. “We canno longer rely on Diamonds alone so it istime for us to diversify and develop othermarkets. Let us make Botswana a placewhere people can come and do business, ”he said.