Executive Communities’ Southern African expansion mandate continues apace with meetings and an inaugural dinner in Botswana.
Ever since its founding in 2011, Executive Communities has had a vision to create value for executives and corporate partners. Over the last decade, it has evolved from a single network for CFOs in South Africa, to facilitating peer-to-peer engagement for Finance, HR, and IT executives in Five African countries.
With the East African business functioning as a blueprint for regional engagement, the South African team is now broadening its reach into neighbouring South African countries.
The first steps in this community building mandate have been to engage executives in Botswana. KC Rottok Chesaina, who joined Executive Communities as co-owner and board member this year, and Thekiso Lefifi, CFO South Africa community manager, supported the first of these on-the-ground engagements in Botswana.
KC held a number of meetings with finance leaders in the country, to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities that they are facing, and to introduce them to the Executive Communities concept.
CFO Botswana loading
Then, an elite group of about 30 of Botswana’s top financial officers from medium to large firms got together for theie first historic gathering under the Executive Communities banner, followed by an inaugural dinner at the Hilton Garden.
Attendees included CFOs from the banking and financial services sector (Botswana Stock Exchange, Standard Chartered, Access Bank, Old Mutual, Bank Gaborone), mining (Debswana, MMG, Sandvik), healthcare (Lenmed), mobile telephony (Orange), microfinance (Letshego), insurance (Exclusive Life), industrial supplies (Barloworld, Level 55), automotive (Nissan), agriculture (Sefalana), travel and tourism (Air Botswana, Avani Hotels), law (Armstrongs), real estate (Letlole La Rona), corporate branding (Benfield), as well as the Botswanan Gambling Authority.
CFOs enjoyed the focus on boosting their knowledge, networks and careers through Executive Communities’ trademark down-to-earth engagement. And the feedback from the evening was overwhelmingly positive.
“This has to be the first of many,” one CFO said. “We’ve reached a point where a CFO community is not optional. We can all learn from this.”
KC assured attendees this was no once-off, calling on partners to support the formal establishment of a CFO community in Gaborone.
Excitement for the team
“I am incredibly excited to deepen my commitment to this community,” says KC. “Having seen the power of peer-to-peer networks firsthand in East Africa, I believe we are only scratching the surface of what African executives can achieve together.”
CFO South Africa community manager Thekiso Anthony Lefifi added that Botswana’s finance leaders would be integrated into upcoming CFO events in South Africa, creating a cross-border platform for shared insight, peer learning and collaboration.
Executive Communities’ strategy of expanding into more Southern African countries is delivering. Halala!
