The Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) is seeking to shift its focus from financing businesses to building commercially viable enterprises capable of competing independently and accessing mainstream capital as it pushes for a more sustainable model of development finance.
CEDA Caretaker Chief Executive Officer Khalala Mokefane said the agency’s effectiveness should be judged by the number of businesses it helps become sustainable, rather than the volume of money it disburses.
Speaking at the National Business Conference in Francistown recently, Mokefane said access to finance alone was insufficient to guarantee business success, with entrepreneurs also needing sound financial management, effective governance, operational efficiency and reliable markets.
“Our success should not be measured simply by how much money we disburse, but by how many sustainable, competitive, and commercially viable enterprises we help build,” he said.
“CEDA should not be the permanent financial home of every enterprise we support,” Mokefane said, adding that the agency should prepare businesses to stand independently and attract capital from the wider financial market.
Mokefane said CEDA was adopting a capacitation-first approach, under which entrepreneurs receive business advisory services, mentorship and capacity building alongside financial support.
He said the objective is to establish a deliberate pathway through which businesses progressively strengthen their operations, financial reporting and creditworthiness until they can secure commercial financing.
“CEDA should not be the permanent financial home of every enterprise we support,” Mokefane said, adding that the agency should prepare businesses to stand independently and attract capital from the wider financial market.
He said this transition would require closer collaboration between CEDA, commercial banks, credit guarantee institutions, development partners and the private sector, including through co-financing and risk-sharing arrangements.
Mokefane also called for a more differentiated approach to funding, arguing that businesses face different constraints and should not automatically be offered loans as the solution.
He said some enterprises have viable products, established markets and sound management but struggle with collateral requirements or working capital. These businesses, Mokefane said, could benefit from credit guarantees, patient capital or financing structures aligned with their cash-flow cycles.
He said others require capacity building and stronger governance before additional funding can be justified. He said CEDA must assess business models, market demand, management capacity and cash-flow potential while distinguishing temporarily distressed but viable enterprises from those requiring substantial restructuring.
He said mentorship and business advisory services should also be tailored to enterprises’ stages of development, from start-ups to established businesses preparing to expand or enter export markets.
Market access is another priority. Mokefane warned that financing production without ensuring demand for the resulting goods and services limits the developmental value of funding.
He cited the Letsema Horticultural Market, CEDA’s Poultry Finance Suite and partnerships with Debswana and Morupule Coal Mine as initiatives aimed at connecting entrepreneurs to value chains and commercial opportunities.
He said mentorship and business advisory services should also be tailored to enterprises’ stages of development, from start-ups to established businesses preparing to expand or enter export markets.
“Our ultimate ambition should be to build enterprises that do not merely survive because they receive developmental support but thrive because they have become genuinely competitive,” Mokefane said.
