Entrepreneurship: It’s Not About Handouts, it’s About Opportunities

The ideas are there! The solutions are there!

The work ethic and enthusiasm among most young people are visible for those who choose to see it. But it is not enough to speak, we must act.

Resources must be made available in ways that support and make growth possible for beneficiaries and for fulfilling the vision of a robust, pro-growth Namibian economy.

Last month, the One Economy Foundation, in partnership with Business Box Namibia, held a business masterclass in the Kunene region on entrepreneurial thinking.

It brought together brilliant young minds, hungry visionaries and hard workers.

They want to work, they want to play their part in developing Namibia.

If we give them room to shine, innovate and collaborate, we’ll find that we’ve always had creators with answers to some of our our wicked problems.

The stage must be set for young and old alike to be given a fair chance at showcasing their ideas and, more importantly, opening the door to the means of realising those dreams.

This needs to happen on both the educational and political level.

My experience is that the youth are hungry and eager to play their part.

If we invest in the dreams and ideas of people (they can feel when you really care), you’ll be surprised to see what they can do when they feel heard and seen.

ENGAGEMENT

We must also find out what poverty eradication and employment creation policies have worked in, for instance, Rwanda in contrast to countries like Tanzania, Tajikistan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Often the answers are only as good as our questions.

We must also engage in conversations around the implementation of effective anti-poverty policies in Namibia.

In general, it is imperative that we entrench mechanisms that promote constitutionalism, accountability, democracy, and good public and corporate governance if Namibia is to achieve its development goals.

Few would disagree that weak public and corporate governance manifest themselves in many ways.

When dysfunctional public and corporate governance persists, it creates an environment where civil servants and the elite act with impunity, embezzle scarce public resources meant for quality education curriculums, effective healthcare systems, infrastructure, water treatment plants, modernised farming, good roads, technology, etc.

The elite must be incentivised to allow the excluded and the poor to participate productively and gainfully in economic growth – such as public investments in primary and secondary education, clean water, basic healthcare, and child nutrition.

Namibia has so much going for her and we need to create strategic and inclusive opportunities that give everyone a chance to be productive. In short, we need to change gear.

EDUCATION

The Kunene region, for example, is plagued by high school dropouts who are mainly unemployable.

Unfortunately, in some cases this leads to other ills such as alcohol and drug abuse or, in some cases, crime.

Young entrepreneurs say one of the main reasons for dropping out is that many of our youths do not see value in the education they get.

Education is invaluable but it also needs to be relatable.

It doesn’t make sense that in this day and age we haven’t yet found ways of instilling our indigenous teachings in the curriculum.

Teaching must also be in line with the issues of our people, as well as the demands of our fast-changing times.

According to one young entrepreneur, Himba Boi, financial education and applying it to business initiatives should be among the subjects taught in schools.

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