‘Struggle kid’ doing it for herself

WHILE many ‘Children of the Liberation Struggle’ demonstrate for jobs and educational opportunities, at least one has decided to do it for herself.

Regina Shikongo, a 28-year-old mother of one and founder and chief executive of Clocknet Technology Centre, is creating jobs and educating others, countering the perception of a sense of entitlement for which the ‘children’ have been criticised.Regina Shikongo does not ask for handouts, but says her personal history pushes her to strive for herself in life.’Born in Angola to parents who had both fled the country to fight for the liberation of Namibia, and spending my early childhood in foster care in a foreign land away from them, made me determined to succeed in life,’ she says.Shikongo’s business, which she describes as a ‘one-stop IT shop’, is located at the Old Brewery Complex in town, and provides ICT training to youngsters, and sells computer hardware, software and accessories. With a staff of six, Clocknet – which celebrated its first anniversary last week – is making admirable headway.’With a growing customer base that includes public and private sector customers, revenue growth indicates that the small firm is punching above its weight,’ says SMEs Compete. SMEs Compete provides routine mentorship and business skills training to Shikongo – an indication that help comes to those who help themselves.The Centre currently accommodates eight students at a time, but Shikongo has plans to expand in the coming weeks, and to take on more staff, so that the student intake can increase to ten. Her personal objectives are for her business to become well established and well respected, and to make her mark as a business person.Achieving what she has so far hasn’t come easy, and she says that to succeed in life, one ‘can’t expect to be given everything on a silver platter’.Regina Shikongo is passing on this lesson to her eight-year-old daughter, Rejoice. ‘I also want to teach my daughter, Rejoice, that nothing is impossible, but that one must be focused, determined and work hard rather than sit around complaining.’ And Shikongo is going the extra mile to inspire other young entrepreneurs with hopes of making it.She spearheaded the formation of Young Minds, a support group that currently has a membership of 12 small companies. The group meets every Saturday morning to network, talk about the challenges they encounter in business, share experiences and in the process learn from one another. ‘The idea is to help each other and stand together as entrepreneurs in overcoming the challenges that we face,’ she says.Asked about her thoughts on the demonstrating youth who have set up camp in the backyard of the Swapo head office in Windhoek, Shikongo says: ‘I think that our generation that came from exile as children have had the same opportunities as those born here. I don’t know how people may have ended up in that situation, but I believe every Namibian has a chance to do what they want to do. Of course it’s not easy, but life is what you make of it.’nangula@namibian.com.na