Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTC) has held its first financial inclusion music festival in Maun over the Independence Day holiday. The music festival featured an array of local artists and comedians inclusive of Amantle Brown, Costa FX, Baxon and Diba, April Gates, Captain Dira, Stiga Sola, Scar, Swag Kids DJs, Lioness Ratang, Franco etc. The music festival is part of the BTC’s financial inclusion programme delivered under the theme Dira.Gola.Tshela roadshow, where a total of 129 villages were covered leading to the music festival in Maun.
Dira.Gola.Tshela roadshow is a national programme that reinforces BTC’s commitment to building a financially inclusive Botswana through a number of activities such as financial literacy training for community leaders and members of the public across Botswana; training of residents on the importance of insurance (funeral cover) for low-income earners and the unemployed, the promotion of financial literacy to residents through artistic expression such as drama, music, poetry etc. through partnerships with local artists.
“The roadshow is the main platform driving BTC’s Financial Inclusion programme, which ensures that citizens and non-citizens can access essential services such as BTC Smega, and unlock the amazing features loaded on the platform that include cash in and cash out, motshelo account for secure group savings, short term loans, payments of services such as bills, electricity, policies etc”, said Acting Head of Mobile Financial Services, Kitso Motswagae.
He furthered stated that through the national roadshow, BTC will create vibrant touchpoints for community connections by using edutainment (education and entertainment) elements such as music festivals and football tournaments to reach and engage the communities as the teams travel across the country, adding that “a total of 300 villages will be covered”.
“The programme embeds BTC’s purpose in everyday experiences that resonate with people’s lives”, explained Mr Motswagae. These engagements demonstrate BTC’S inclusive product suite and also show how connectivity, mobile money, and financial education can transform households and communities. “As BTC marks 45 years of service to the nation, the Dira. Gola. Tshela roadshow continues to align with Botswana’s national development goals and the global vision for universal financial access.”, he explained. He further stated that the music festival held in Maun was the first of its kind and more are planned.
Combining education as well as digital tools has enabled BTC to ensure that no one is left behind on the financial inclusion journey.
The programme reflects BTC’s belief in the importance of empowering communities and ensuring that they are included in matters that affect the economy of Botswana.
