Africa-Press – Namibia. OLD Mutual Namibia together with Launch Namibia, the Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Lab, has launched a funding initiative aimed at the grassroots market.
The iniative, called the ‘Old Mutual Sustainable, Economic and Empowerment Drive (OM Seed)’ will run for the next three years, Old Mutual Foundation spokesperson Mufaro Nesongano says.
“We will be targeting the grassroots market in three randomly selected towns across the 14 regions annually.
“This year we have specifically selected Keetmanshoop, Oshakati and Windhoek, as these towns are strategically located to impact and create value within the deepseated communities,” he says.
Along with its partners, the company says it would also consider it a success if it empowers 180 grassroots businesses by offering training on financial sustainability, business running ethics and sustainable business practices from 60 chosen applicants per town.
Of these, 20 will qualify to pitch to a panel of three judges, and of the 20, three winners will be selected per town to win their share of N$85 000 to upscale their businesses.
Old Mutual’s acting marketing executive, Ashante Manneti, says by working alongside the Financial Literacy Initiative, a national platform to enhance financial education and Launch Namibia, which identifies as a small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) market player, the commitment of partnering with organisations which are doing exceptional work for the Namibian SMME sector is shown.
“Through the OM Seed we want to empower our entrepreneurs to take charge of their futures, to be able to cultivate and grow their business ideas, and be able to expand their businesses. Through training, mentoring, leadership and guidance, this initiative can empower our local entrepreneurs to thrive and one day empower others to follow suit,” Nesongano says.
Applications opened on 5 July and will close on 22 July, with application forms readily available at the Old Mutual branches – Keetmanshoop and Oshakati, and in Windhoek.
The chosen participants in Windhoek will have the opportunity to partake in OM Seed on 3 and 4 August, while those at Keetmanshoop can look forward to taking part on 10 and 11 August, and those at Oshakati will have the opportunity to do so on 17 and 18 August.
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