WINDHOEK – The youth entrepreneurial development workshop tour organised by Helpan Consulting, scheduled to start next month in the capital, is expected to attract thousands of youths countrywide.
The workshop themed, SMEs the roots of economic growth, will be hosted to educate and enlighten students and graduates on entrepreneurship, instead of waiting to be recruited. The main aim of the workshop tour is to give these young people ideas how to start their own business to contribute to employment creation in the country. The tour is to run for a few months starting at the Nampower Convention Centre on February 23. From thereon, the workshop will continue to other nine selected institutions countrywide, like vocational training centres, among others.
The main targets of the workshop are vocational trainees and graduates as well as students from universities and colleges. “Every student and graduate who would like to embark on the entrepreneurial journey is expected to attend the workshop at any nearest selected places in the country without paying any consultation fees. However students will have to pay a registration and administrative fee of N$200 only,” says Lukas Akooko, co-founder of Helpan Consultants.
“The workshop will enable students with a passion for business to start their businesses. Most of the time people do not start a business because they do not want, but because they do not know where to start or they do not have a plan on how to run their business,” says Jordan Efraim, another co-founder of the organisation. He adds that the workshop will touch on where to register a business; what one needs when registering a company and the type of companies that can be registered.
The workshop will also discuss the importance of business planning; how to draft a plan of the company and the students will compile their business plans with the guidance of Helpan Consultants.
“Since the workshop will enlighten the students on how to start their businesses, this will reduce the unemployment rate in the country. It will also create employment opportunities in the future and as these SMEs start to grow, our country’s GDP will also increase as more SMEs join the industry,” adds Akooko.
Helpan Consultants is a business consulting company established in 2016 by two young graduates to uplift the SME industry in the country. Helpan Consultants believe that entrepreneurship is one of the biggest weapons to fight unemployment, therefore it assists with the registration of SMEs; bookkeeping; business mentorship; business plans, coaching, and helping SMEs to get funds to start operating; do the financial statements of the company and help with the corporate branding.