Botswana Investment & Trade Centre Tours Riotrade's Manufacturing Hub

The Management Team from the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), led by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Keletsositse Olebile, Chief Operations Officer Mr. Anthony Sefako, Executive Director of Export Development and Promotion Mr. Temo D. Ntapu, and Executive Director of Business Facilitation Mr. Obert Yuyi, along with Manager of Investment Promotion Mr. Tigele Nleya, paid a courtesy visit to Rio Trade Enterprises, a BITC-supported company. Rio Trade Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, a wholly citizen-owned cigarette manufacturing company, has recently launched a state-of-the-art plant in the Phakalane industrial to position itself as a leading player in the local, regional and international tobacco industry.

This visit is part of BITC’s continued commitment to addressing the challenges faced by the private sector within its priority sectors to unlock their full potential. The project resonates with BITC and the national mandate to promote import substitution of tobacco products, diversify the economy, create job opportunities for Batswana and grow tobacco value chain in the region. The company’s investment plan will be implemented in a phased approach by increasing production and promoting homegrown cigarette brands with a view to penetrating the local market and gradually into the regional and international markets.

At full scale, the company will invest in excess of USD 10 million over eight years and will create over 1500 direct jobs for locals and 10 000 indirect jobs across the value chain. Rio Trade will also develop the industry value chain at primary level by working closely with the communities to produce tobacco, which is the key raw material and other associate services such as packaging and supply chain.

In his address, Mr. Olebile emphasized BITC's commitment to enabling the potential impact of the project in the economy through a structured approach with key stakeholders. Key enablers pertaining to trade, regulatory market compliance with prevailing international requirements. BITC has pledged its commitment to facilitate relevant support in a collaborative approach with the government and key stakeholders to address bottlenecks in ensuring the project achieves its desired impact. He encouraged Rio Trade management to actively engage with BITC to address any business challenges they may encounter. ‎

Source: BITC Media