inBUSINESS Issue 12

no strong regulations for foreigners.”
It is these positive pointers that
attracted a delegation from a Japanese
business federation to Botswana early last
year. “In February 2016, the delegation
met with an acting minister and highranking
government officials,” says
Ambassador Onishi. “It also attended
a business seminar hosted by Business
Botswana.”
The embassy treated the delegation to a
business lunch during which its members
met ministers, government officials and
entrepreneurs in an informal networking
environment. The Japanese being a nation
well known for a strong work ethic,
Ambassador Onishi never misses an
opportunity to communicate and teach
Batswana about his people’s exceptional
work culture.
Botswana and Botswana’s investment
climate even though South Africa shares a
long border with Botswana,” he notes. “But
through that visit, I think many Japanese
companies are interested in Botswana and
I will continue to make an effort to bring
more Japanese companies to this country.”
At present there are six companies from
the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ operating in
Africa’s oldest democracy, which is out of
synch with the half century of relations
between the two countries and their shared
world view. However, this should soon
change because Ambassador Onishi says
the Embassy is in receipt of expressions of
interest to partner with local companies
at various levels across industries and that
such requests are increasing in frequency.
“The Embassy has received requests
from large and small to medium scale
businesses in Japan to gather market
information on Botswana to support
them in their search for partnerships,”
Ambassador Onishi confirms. The focus
of current requests embraces marketing
research to export agricultural products
to Japan, import of livestock feed from
Japan, import of used automobile parts to
Botswana from Japan and promotion of
IT equipment.
This is what Ambassador has to say
about his vision for Botswana: “I wish
Botswana could be the hub of SADC. It
is often said Botswana is a ‘landlocked
country’ but it can also be said Botswana
is a ‘land-linked’ country. I think it is
important for Botswana to be a logistics
hub.”
In his view, Botswana should consider
adding value on goods passing through
its territory to neighbouring countries
as an additional revenue stream because
the country is a natural hub of the SADC
region.
“In December 2015,
I appeared on Btv
to introduce Japan’s
business relations and
practices that could be
emulated by Batswana
where it is relevant to
do so,” he explains.
“It was a very good
experience for me to
introduce Japanese
business culture to
Batswana.”
Significantly, Ambassador Onishi’s
efforts to present Botswana as an ideal
place of business for Japanese investors
are not limited to the two countries.
For example, the Embassy of Japan to
Botswana, in partnership with BITC, last
year hosted a seminar in South Africa to
inform Japanese business owners there
about business opportunities in Botswana.
Ambassador Onishi and then CEO of
BITC Letsebe Sejoe also visited Japaneseowned
businesses in South Africa to speak
about Botswana’s business viability.
While the seminar and tour went well,
the Ambassador has expresses concern at
the poor level of familiarity with Botswana
among the Japanese just across the border
to the south. “Frankly speaking, Japanese
companies did not know much about
www.inbusiness.co.bw | Issue 12 | 2017 9