Our Story

In 2016, we started operating as a business development consultancy with a goal to reduce the failure rate of SMEs in Botswana. This was inspired our firm believe that by increasing the survival rate of SMEs, we can develop Botswana into a high-income economy and break generational cycles of poverty.

However, our first 4 years consulting for SMEs – and operating as one, evidenced that the challenges faced by entrepreneurs are too complex to solve through affordable marketing services alone. We noticed that SMEs faced challenges in accessing markets and funding, as well as operational inefficiencies which resulted to the premature and dismal failure. In 2020, at the peak of COVID-19 and strict lockdowns, we started transitioning our small business development consultancy into a comprehensive entrepreneurship support organization.

A small, self-funded and volunteer-ran organization established at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we started working through a local radio station and social media to deliver entrepreneurial masterclasses to SMEs in Botswana. In January 2021 – less than 6 months after Market Players born – Africa began trading under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

The AfCFTA brought together the 54 African countries to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of US$ 3.4 trillion. This presented an opportunity to integrate our beneficiaries into a wider and duty-free market – inspiring and compelling us to reimagine a more inclusive and mutually beneficial pan-Africanist model.

Market Players serves as an entrepreneurship support organization that aims to improve the competitiveness of startups and small-medium enterprises owned youth and women in Africa. We use a strengths-based and human-centered approach to develop impact-driven African entrepreneurs who understand their crucial role of driving Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations SDGs.

Over the last two and half years, we have developed Market Players into a formidable organization with over 500 entrepreneurs; over 85% of whom are youth and women. We have initiated and facilitated a range of training & mentorship programs, market access initiatives and funding opportunities.

Our Vision

To harness Africa’s demographic dividend by increasing the competitiveness of startups and small-medium enterprises owned youth and women.

What Sets Us Apart

Inclusive

We understand the financial difficulties problems faced by African entrepreneurs, that is why our programs are accessible on a free and open subscription. This is intended to include economically marginalized communities.

Independent

A key element of entrepreneurship development is lobbying policy reform and expediting the implementation thereof. Therefore, we advance the interests of our beneficiaries and uphold impartiality when engaging with state governments.

Impactful

While state governments have an irrefutable role to create an enabling business ecosystem; civil society must not be passive beneficiaries of government efforts alone. That is why we take it upon ourselves to champion entrepreneurship development.