Erongo schools’ entrepreneurship programme launched in Walvis

THE Namibian Ports Authority and AfriSam Cement became partners in the Afrisam Entrepreneurship Development Programme for schools in Erongo on Tuesday.

Eighty grade 11 pupils from four schools in the region were chosen to participate in the programme.
The schools are Kuisebmond and De Duine Secondary schools in Walvis Bay, Swakopmund Secondary School and the Kolin Foundation Secondary School at Arandis.
This is the third year that the programme is running. This year, it will also be rolled out in the Karas, Otjozondjupa and Caprivi regions.
After signing a partnership agreement with Afrisam, Namport Social Investment Fund’s Wessel Feris said it was Namport’s prerogative to provide assistance to those ‘who want to support themselves’.
‘We want these children to realise that they can be job creators instead of job seekers, creating wealth and prosperity not just for themselves but for others as well,’ he said.
Namport donated N$131 000 to the programme on top of AfriSam’s N$65 000. The programme is aimed at developing the skills of pupils to become successful entrepreneurs, according to Nora Ndopu of AfriSam.
‘It’s to have a love for business and innovation,’ she said.
Ndopu said the statistics showed that only 42 per cent of grade 10s and 12s pass their grades, and that only about half of these qualify for further studies.
‘When these learners have no options, they end up sitting at home and are counted as part of the unemployment statistics,’ she said.
To address unemployment, AfriSam started the programme three years ago. Selected grade 11 pupils attend a series of intensive workshops in entrepreneurship, which are conducted after school by a consultant.
The programme requires pupils to form business syndicates which are mentored by businesspeople with proven records, and provide their services to the pupils on a volunteer basis.