Earth Vitamins, the home-grown food production company, is on a roadshow to raise millions of Pula which will be channeled towards the construction of a first of its kind multi-purpose factory in Pilane, a village in the Kgatleng district. This week, the founder of the company, Thabo Molefe opened up to Botswana Guardian, about his ambitious plan of building the factory, which, once up and running, will accept, almost all kinds of farm produce for processing.
The plant will source raw produce in the form of horticulture, livestock, crops, greens among others from local farmers. The produce will then be processed before being sold out. The founder of Earth Vitamins, who quit his ‘reasonably paying and promising career’ as a banker, disclosed that, the grand plan, is to afford farmers, a ‘proper opportunity’ to sell their produce at competitive prices. What will give farmers comfort, is the fact that, once the produce is processed, it will be consumed locally, with the rest being exported for foreign currency earnings.
The Earth Vitamins director has also revealed the factory itself is expected to cost P20 million. In addition, about P80 million, will be channeled towards capacitating farmers to produce more, using latest technologies and innovation solutions which will improve efficiency. Botswana, which once depended on agriculture for survival, lags behind when it comes to adaption and usage of latest technology. The landlocked country, currently imports majority of its foodstuff, both processed and raw. Molefe, who holds a M.Sc. in Change Management and Leadership from the Leeds University, is buoyant the plant, once operational, will be in a position to cut the country’s ballooning import bill.
“Our hope is to contribute towards the long term increase on exports as well as economic diversification initiatives,“ said Molefe, adding that they have support coming from agencies such as BITC and USAID. He told Botswana Guardian this week that, they have already approached private financiers, here and abroad, who have shown great interest. The Company already has an Investor Memorandum which has made their job much easier when dealing with prospective investors.
The Investor Memo, as it is commonly known, is a document that provides a comprehensive overview of a company, with the express intention of receiving investment of some kind. The investment memo is shared by the company seeking the investment among potential investors, who will usually request clarification on various points raised in the document. The company has already secured land for the plant, which is poised to have sweeping socio-economic impact within the Kgatleng geographic location.
The land is availed by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC). The latter was established by an Act of Parliament in 2012 as an integrated Investment and Trade Promotion Authority (ITPA) with a mandate encompassing investment promotion and attraction, export promotion and development, and management of the Nation's Brand. As things stand, Earth Vitamins, currently focusses on meat processing, enabling them to supply the country’s blue chip hotels and restaurants. The emerging company also participates in government’s feeding programme.
The company, which currently employs 15 people, from a 30 pre-COVID 19 numbers, has heaped praised on Botswana Stock Exchange’s (BSE)'s Tshipidi Mentorship program. The objective of the Program is to provide practical training to potential issuers through a comprehensive and interactive program that covers the key themes necessary to position a company to list on the BSE. The program is administered by the experts within the listing ecosystem and seeks to bring the potential issuers closer to the listings advisers, investors and leaders of already listed companies. E
arth Vitamins’ plans are many, despite impediments. “We want to bring back more people to the farms. Our view, is that there has to be more incentives that can force people to go back to the farms. Right now, government is doing a lot to help grow the agricultural sector. However, sometimes, it appears government is throwing money at problems,” he opined. For the country to grow its agricultural sector, there is need to invest more on technology, which can, among other things, help improve efficiency and bolster outputs. This explains why the company has an App which allows customers to order and be supplied at the comfort of their homes.
The plant will source raw produce in the form of horticulture, livestock, crops, greens among others from local farmers. The produce will then be processed before being sold out. The founder of Earth Vitamins, who quit his ‘reasonably paying and promising career’ as a banker, disclosed that, the grand plan, is to afford farmers, a ‘proper opportunity’ to sell their produce at competitive prices. What will give farmers comfort, is the fact that, once the produce is processed, it will be consumed locally, with the rest being exported for foreign currency earnings.
The Earth Vitamins director has also revealed the factory itself is expected to cost P20 million. In addition, about P80 million, will be channeled towards capacitating farmers to produce more, using latest technologies and innovation solutions which will improve efficiency. Botswana, which once depended on agriculture for survival, lags behind when it comes to adaption and usage of latest technology. The landlocked country, currently imports majority of its foodstuff, both processed and raw. Molefe, who holds a M.Sc. in Change Management and Leadership from the Leeds University, is buoyant the plant, once operational, will be in a position to cut the country’s ballooning import bill.
“Our hope is to contribute towards the long term increase on exports as well as economic diversification initiatives,“ said Molefe, adding that they have support coming from agencies such as BITC and USAID. He told Botswana Guardian this week that, they have already approached private financiers, here and abroad, who have shown great interest. The Company already has an Investor Memorandum which has made their job much easier when dealing with prospective investors.
The Investor Memo, as it is commonly known, is a document that provides a comprehensive overview of a company, with the express intention of receiving investment of some kind. The investment memo is shared by the company seeking the investment among potential investors, who will usually request clarification on various points raised in the document. The company has already secured land for the plant, which is poised to have sweeping socio-economic impact within the Kgatleng geographic location.
The land is availed by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC). The latter was established by an Act of Parliament in 2012 as an integrated Investment and Trade Promotion Authority (ITPA) with a mandate encompassing investment promotion and attraction, export promotion and development, and management of the Nation's Brand. As things stand, Earth Vitamins, currently focusses on meat processing, enabling them to supply the country’s blue chip hotels and restaurants. The emerging company also participates in government’s feeding programme.
The company, which currently employs 15 people, from a 30 pre-COVID 19 numbers, has heaped praised on Botswana Stock Exchange’s (BSE)'s Tshipidi Mentorship program. The objective of the Program is to provide practical training to potential issuers through a comprehensive and interactive program that covers the key themes necessary to position a company to list on the BSE. The program is administered by the experts within the listing ecosystem and seeks to bring the potential issuers closer to the listings advisers, investors and leaders of already listed companies. E
arth Vitamins’ plans are many, despite impediments. “We want to bring back more people to the farms. Our view, is that there has to be more incentives that can force people to go back to the farms. Right now, government is doing a lot to help grow the agricultural sector. However, sometimes, it appears government is throwing money at problems,” he opined. For the country to grow its agricultural sector, there is need to invest more on technology, which can, among other things, help improve efficiency and bolster outputs. This explains why the company has an App which allows customers to order and be supplied at the comfort of their homes.
