Okavango Wilderness Safaris (OWS) hosted its annual Sip & Mingle stakeholder event on the 20th of November, bringing together members of the Botswana’s Members’ Club, partners, colleagues, and media to celebrate a year of milestones and shared successes.
Key attendees also included newly appointed Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Honourable Lesego Chombo; HE Howard Van Vranken, the U.S. Ambassador to Botswana; Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) CEO, Keitumetse Seitang; HATAB Chairman, Joe Motse; HATAB CEO, Lily Rakorong; and Ross Branch, World Rally Raid Champion 2024.
Held under the stars at 267 Kitchen + Bar, the event provided an opportunity to reflect on OWS’s impactful contributions to conservation, community, and the tourism industry while fostering connections with key stakeholders and showing appreciation to those in the Members’ programme for what their annual contributions support, largely through the Children in the Wilderness (CITW) Botswana programme.
Wilderness Group CEO, Keith Vincent, was present for the event, showing appreciation for Botswana as the birthplace of Wilderness, and celebrating the tremendous strides made since it first began operations in 1983. Founded in Botswana over 40 years ago, Wilderness harnesses its hospitality business to drive transformative, lasting change, guided by its Impact pillars – Educate, Empower, and Protect. In addition to training and skills development, job creation and numerous conservation and community empowerment efforts in the region, Wilderness remains committed to growing its positive impact on the national economy through conservation tourism, Keith shared.
Speaking at the event, Kabelo Binns, OWS Board Chairman, said, “This has been a year of significant change and progress, which resonates deeply with our mission at Okavango Wilderness Safaris,” Binns stated. “At Wilderness, we are committed to creating meaningful impact, and it is through the unwavering support of our stakeholders that we continue to grow and evolve.”
OWS’s dedication to conservation and community upliftment was a focal point of the evening. Highlights included:
- Children in the Wilderness (CITW): Over 300 children participated in the CITW programme this year, benefiting from leadership training and environmental stewardship education. Plans for the 2024 CITW camps include diversifying the curriculum to cover sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, and career development.
- Conservation Investments: Over BWP 5 million was invested in anti-poaching and wildlife research, resulting in a 15% increase in predator populations within protected areas. The geofencing and lion collaring program with CLAWS continues to address human-wildlife conflict effectively.
- Borehole Initiative: Six solar-powered boreholes were handed over to communities in wildlife buffer zones, providing sustainable access to clean water for over 2,000 people and reducing human-wildlife conflict.
- Emergency Food Relief: Recognising the challenges of the recent drought, OWS launched a food relief programme to distribute 350 food parcels monthly from November 2024 to January 2025, supporting communities in the Okavango Community Trust (OCT) villages and Sankoyo.
The event also celebrated OWS’s world-renowned camps, which have earned prestigious accolades, including Wilderness Mombo being named the Best Lodge in Africa by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. Other notable rankings were achieved by Jao, Little Mombo, Vumbura Plains, and DumaTau, further cementing Botswana’s position as a premier travel destination.
As OWS reflects on over 40 years of transformative impact, the organisation remains steadfast in its commitment to conservation, community development, and sustainable tourism. The Sip & Mingle event not only celebrated these achievements but also reinforced OWS’s dedication to fostering partnerships that contribute to Botswana’s prosperity.
“Our collective efforts ensure that we can protect Botswana’s rich biodiversity while empowering its people,” Caretaker Managing Director Joe Matome concluded. “We look forward to continuing this journey together, inspired by the shared vision of a brighter future and the support of our partners, including but not limited to Stanbic Bank Botswana and our many local leadership, conservation and tourism partners such as BTO and HATAB”.