On Day 2 of The Future of Mining Summit 2025, Debswana Executive Head of Corporate Affairs, Rachel Mothibatsela delivered thought leadership through a presentation titled ‘Social license to operate – impactful socio-economic development’. Ms, Mothibatsela shared how Debswana has changed the approach in uplifting communities to highly impactful social and community development interventions aimed at creating a shared value ecosystem.
“Socio Economic-Development (SED) and CSI cannot be a stand-alone programme, it must be a comprehensive framework and part of your broad business strategy and ESG programme supported by the top leadership of the organisation. It must align to your host country’s & host communities’ plans, as well as align to your company’s purpose and values,” said Ms. Mothibatsela when sharing on the lessons from Debswana’s SED Journey. She also advised on the importance of governance and how leveraging on existing infrastructure and services can enable greater impact. She ended by a clarion call for other entities to partner and collaborate with Debswana for a greater and transformative impact.
Debswana launched its 5-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy last year, underpinned by collaborative partnerships. The strategy seeks to foster sustainable socio-economic growth in areas impacted by Debswana over the next five years, incorporating learnings from the past 55 years of existence.
