Lüderitz
Several businesspeople in Lüderitz recently attended a one-day information-sharing meeting at Benguela Community Hall on business funding and financing options.
!Nami#nus Constituency Office, in conjunction with the Lüderitz chapter of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), as part of their commitment to social progress and economic growth – core pillars of the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) – invited representatives from Debmarine Namdeb Foundation, SME Bank, the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade & SME Development, Namport, Namibia Phosphate Mining, Rotary Namibia, Cosdec, and the Lüderitz Waterfront.
A cross-section of representatives of various Namibian financial and commercial houses came to !Nami#nus to impart knowledge about business financing options available to the youth and SME businesses to aid in the creation, stimulation and growth of business in Lüderitz.
!Nami#nus Constituency Councillor Jan Scholtz noted that access to information, education and communication are key facets of development in any society. Thus, the aim of the meeting was to provide a platform for the dissemination of information and in turn allow for communication between both sides of the business spectrum.
Scholtz stressed that information and access to financing would be availed to support the youth and SME businesses in the local constituency. Lack of knowledge and access to funding options are some of the major obstacles to entrepreneurship, as could be attested by many of the business people in attendance.
Scholtz encouraged businesspeople to get the necessary information and put it to good use. “Take it, digest it and implement it to the benefit of yourselves and the town as a whole,” Scholtz advised the workshop.
He said he hopes to see an increase in the number of new youth-driven businesses and growth in Lüderitz as a result of the information that the delegates received at the meeting. Scholtz also encouraged the business community to grasp the information available with earnest intent.
He further applauded the presenters, who availed time from their busy schedules to assist and advise the others: “You have heeded the call of our President Dr Hage Geingob, to ensure that nobody is left behind. By providing this information you are guaranteed that the business community and the youth of Lüderitz are now part and parcel of the national development drive, are adequately equipped and on par with the rest of the Namibian economic players.”