Africa-Press – Namibia. LAZARUS AMUKESHE
THE Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) is on a nationwide drive to provide small businesses with information on how to grow their businesses.
The board is targeting the northern and north-eastern parts of the country this month.
Under its ‘Know2Grow’ initiative, the board has teamed up with several private sector businesses and financiers to share information on the opportunities that exist in the country on market access and access to funding.
These opportunities, according to the board, are vital for the success and scaling of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In a statement issued yesterday, the board said the ‘Know2Grow’ campaign is aimed at empowering MSMEs with vital knowledge and information that will enable them to scale up by gaining access to markets to sell their products, or to secure funding for business expansion.
The campaign was launched in February and has engaged more than 1 000 MSME owners to date, with an ambitious target of empowering at least 3 000 small businesses countrywide by the end of the year.
For May, the focus is on towns such as Tsumeb, Omuthiya, Ondangwa, Eenhana, Rundu and Katima Mulilo lined up until 20 May.
The board said all sessions are free and open to MSMEs currently operating, or those individuals who aspire to start businesses in textile and manufacturing, agriculture, horticulture and food processing, electronics and information, communication and technology, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, as well as green hydrogen.
In addition to the experts representing various business support organisations, the NIPDB has enlisted prominent entrepreneurs as speakers to share their entrepreneurship experience and motivate the participants.
These include Nico Kaiyamo, an entrepreneur based at Tsumeb, Beata Shitemba, the founder of Nels Babies and Kiddies, Keri Kosozi, the founder of Usuta Couture, and Prisca Mayombelo, the founding director of PM Transport and Road Safety Consulting.
“With the campaign, the NIPDB aims to stimulate a dynamic MSME ecosystem characterised by thriving, sustainable businesses that are capable of accessing international markets and positively contributing to the country’s economic development,” says board spokesperson Catherine Shipushu.
She says initiatives such as ‘Know2Grow’ would help unlock and promote youth entrepreneurship in the country, which could catalyse economic growth through skills development, and create much-needed employment opportunities.
According to Namibia Hub, there are over 40 000 registered small businesses in Namibia, and the board’s initiative appears to be just a drop in the ocean.
The board, which is just a year old, has, however, called on private and public entities to join the initiative as strategic partners, and in so doing contribute towards supporting a larger number of MSMEs.
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