Iuze Mukube
African entrepreneurs showcasing their enterprises at the African Union’s Micro, Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (MSME) Forum in Windhoek last week expressed appreciation for Namibia’s convenient and at all-time accessible ports.
Nigerian businesswoman Ameera Abraham, who owns Amali Cosmetics, expressed amazement at learning that Namibia’s ports are always open for business.
“So, one of the amazing things about Namibia, as I learnt yesterday, is that ports are open 24-7, borders are now open 24-7, allowing for free movement of goods and ease of doing business essentially.
Abraham continued: “And that really stood out for me as a viable country partner to do business in. So, I look forward to investing and partnering local communities that produce things like marula oil and maybe having a new range of Amali that, speaks to the heart of Namibia.”
As an entrepreneur, she said the brand started due to her personal struggle with a health condition brought about by hormonal imbalances.
“And that was how Amali was born. A lot of products contain endocrine disruptors, which basically affect the balance of your hormones, leaving you with conditions like acne, severe acne, hair loss, even male pattern hair growth.”
Explaining that due to using advanced products at a young age, she didn’t realise these products contained artificial fragrances, toxic preservatives that were causing flare ups of her symptoms. She emphasized Amali Cosmetics has solutions for excessively dry heels and hands, and essentially these products are like a manicure and pedicure in a bottle and are the perfect companion for self-care.
In agreement was Nigerian Ololade Samuel, owner of House of Helizah, a fashion brand that combines unique designs with locally made textiles like Ajike. Samuel said she participated in the AU Forum to gain insight into exploring new markets, to be able to explore new partnerships and to expand her brand’s network.
“We want to move beyond Nigeria and it could be very challenging, the logistics of moving, of sending items across the continent or the country. Right now, we are here, and we’ve been able to explore possible partnerships and ways to reduce all these costs to help us expand even outside Nigeria and Africa”.
She concluded: “Some of the opportunities the AU forum has helped us to see is how we can expand into new markets across Africa.
It has also given us the opportunity, it’s such an invaluable platform, and it has given us the opportunity to also see how we can meet locals here in Namibia to be able to expand our products or export our product into Namibia. That is a good one for me.”