AGP Executive Report
Last update: 11 hours agoBotswana Tobacco Control: Botswana has been urged to urgently finalise and implement Tobacco Control Act (2021) regulations as a new 2025 Tobacco Industry Interference Index flags rising industry influence, especially through vaping and newer nicotine products. Diamond Tech Shift: At the World Federation of Diamond Bourses Botswana Summit, industry leaders warned that natural-diamond marketing must evolve for an AI-and-blockchain era, pushing traceability, ownership and digital trading as lab-grown competition reshapes demand. Crypto & Geopolitics: Bitcoin and the wider crypto market slid sharply after Iranian strikes on Kuwait and escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, with leveraged positions reportedly forced out as risk assets fell. Regional Telecom Leadership: Telecom Namibia CEO Stanley Shanapinda was appointed Executive Secretary of CRASA, with his Telecom Namibia tenure ending 1 July; the role is based in Gaborone and focuses on SADC regulator harmonisation. STEM Outreach: Merck’s Curiosity Cube™ mobile lab brought hands-on synthetic biology experiments to Pretoria students, aiming to turn curiosity into STEM career pathways. Mining & Industry: Leviathan Metals has started a diamond core drilling program at its Central Project in Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt, targeting sediment-hosted copper mineralisation. Metallurgy Hub Push: Selebi-Phikwe was highlighted as a key industrial transformation centre as Botswana advances plans for a Metallurgical and Electric Mobility Hub to deepen beneficiation and innovation-led growth.
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