Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) hosted an Open Day in Molepolole on 23rd May 2019, under the theme, “Your Partner in Wealth Creation” to increase outreach to sensitize and educate the public in the Kweneng District about the stock market and the importance of investing.
The Open Day serves as a platform to guide participants on the process of investing in BSE listed securities and assist in addressing some of the concerns many Batswana may have with regard to the stock market.
Asked why the Open Day was dominated by civil servants representing government departments and council, Kgotla Segwe, Market Development Specialist said as much as they would have loved members of the community to attend in large numbers they cannot force them. He opined that perhaps government departments and the local authority had designated representatives because they had been invited directly through their offices.
Even the cream of Botswana’s corporate society representing private companies, government departments, parastatals, and several other strategic partners within Capital Markets as promised were nowhere to be found. Only brokers registered with the BSE were on hand to assist curious potential takers during a stalls tour at the end of the programme.
Delivering a keynote address MP for the Molepolole North, Mahommed Khan, himself a businessman in Kweneng, encouraged BSE to intensify their public education efforts as many Batswana are clueless about investments, let alone financial literacy. He said with improved understanding of the financial services market and how the stock exchange works plus an assurance that investments are safe under tight regulation more batswana will come forward take advantage of opportunities.
BSE leverages the Open Day initiative to educate and inform local business owners about the prospects of listing on an Exchange to facilitate growth, the listing process and the listings requirements. On Thursday morning BSE Chief Executive Officer Thapelo Tsheole, accompanied by Thapelo Moribame- Head of Market Development and Billy Kgati – a Trading & Surveillance Specialist took turns in a laborious exercise to lecture the audience in vernacular about How the Stock exchange operates, emphasising opportunities available to ordinary citizens. The half-day seminar provided a platform for business owners to draw lessons and knowledge on how a listing can assist in expanding their business operations to other markets outside of Botswana.