‘Entrepreneurship crucial for economy’

TJIPENANDJAMBI KUHANGAENTREPRENEURSHIP plays a critical role in the Namibian economy, Sanlam’s marketing and communications manager Hilaria Graig says.

Graig said this at Sanlam’s 2019 innovation works initiative in cooperation with the Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII), where they announced the five business recipients who will each get N$50 000 as start-up capital for their initiatives. The recipients will also receive soft skills and capacity-building training as well as mentorship from NBII to support them on their business journey.

The project has so far supported 21 upcoming entrepreneurs with start-up capital, coaching and mentorship needed to get their businesses off the ground, and Graig encouraged the five business recipients to remain focused on their goals, and to take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them.

“Sanlam’s commitment to the project emphasises the importance of entrepreneurship as an effective weapon in countering unemployment and eradicating poverty,” she reiterated.

Graig said they received 102 applications for the project, from which 15 businesses were selected to pitch their business ideas to the team.

One of the five out 15 participants selected to take part in the Sanlam innovation works project is Motlee HR Systems, a controlled cloud-based Fintech human resources platform aimed at small and medium-sized organisations with an African growth focus. The company was founded to make sure that every employee has access to a payslip, which will enable them access to financial institutions and financial products, hence improving financial inclusion on the continent.

Chi-Chi AfricanApp, a mobile application created to bring breast cancer awareness and support networks to millions of African women across the continent, was another. It’s especially created to target low-income and rural African women who cannot afford quality medical breast cancer healthcare and support across Africa.

Mist Agricultural Laboratory (Mistal), a start-up company and laboratory that has been founded by two young Namibian females, was also a winner. The duo identified gaps in the food quality assurance and nutritional information labelling industry, and have found a way to close these gaps by opening Mistal.

NamBush Feeds is one of the five chosen participants whose product is ‘Van Bos na Kos’, an Afrikaans name, which means ‘food from the bush’. For the product, two encroacher bushes will be used and these bushes were selected because they are the most dominant encroacher bush, and are edible for livestock. Four different supplements will be separately mixed with each bush. This feed is organic, and is the closest feed to the natural food of herbivores.

Linda Creations is a business aimed at creating top-quality affordable cleaning materials, made in Namibia for Namibians. The main products are dishwashing liquids.

The five participants will be coached for a period of eight months, whereafter an overall winner for the year will be selected and get an additional N$25 000.

NBII’s manager for entrepreneurship and incubation, Bernice Ndungaua, encouraged the business recipients to continue working on their businesses even after the competition is over.

“We put our trust, money and time in the five selected participants because we want to see them grow. So, make the best use of the time granted to you, especially during the eight months,” she added.

Ndungaua said they are not expecting the business recipients to make profit immediately, but they would like to see them make progress in their businesses.

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