By Sabina Elago
Born and raised in the Evale Village in the Oshikoto region, Vlo Gideon, is a young ambitions businessperson.
He has three sisters and two brothers. Vlo attended his primary at Elambo Combined School where he used to walk 20 kilometres to school. “I recall very well in Grade 5, we were 103 in one class and we used to attend classes under a tree due for lack of classrooms.” His secondary school was at Ekulo Senior Secondary School and in 2006 he went to furthered his studies at the University of Namibia where he enrolled for a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics.
In 2012 Vlo founded Vtech Information Technology Services (Vtech ITS), an IT company, specialising in Web development, Hosting and Training. Vtech IT focuses on several areas including software development, Web hosting, Web design and development, Mobile applications, IT support, Training, International certifications, Training, Computer and Hardware supply. “The ideas of creating jobs opportunities for others give me strength to start a business. It was difficult, but not impossible,” he says.
Vtech has seven employees of whom four are IT specialists and three administrators. They serve private sectors, government and individuals. “Some of our clients are Dinapama Manufacturing, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Finance, Okahandja Municipality, Namibia Medical Services, just to mention a few.”
Vlo says his first year in the market was a challenge as starting a business can be very challenging, especially to those that give up easily. “I have encountered so many challenges during the first year in the market, cash, borrowing, and resource management and what I learned was if capital receivable collections are draining your cash, you won’t be able to stay in business for long.”
“When I started I only had one client who pays N$99 per month and that was my monthly income. Meeting clients in coffee shop was always a problem since I had no office. Thanks to my friend, Mushe, who let me use his office during this difficult situation. This made me realise that the biggest obstacle standing in the way of success is not a lack of financing or a failure to understand your potential market, but getting started. Just because you show up every day at work and spend the whole day on social networks doesn’t mean you are getting started or getting anything done. You need to identify what you want to accomplish in life and taking actions within your level of acceptable loss,” says Vlo.
Vtech is currently just based in Windhoek, however they offer services to all parts of Namibia and even to neighbouring countries such as Angola, South Africa and Zimbabwe and will soon open a branch in Ongwediva. “We market our services and products through media, social networks and emailing. Moreover, we also use direct marketing by distributing our training calendars, flyers to different Ministries and organizations. ”
Vtech will branch into Transportation and Logistics to employ more people and cut down the unemployment rate in Namibia. We want to be an internationally acclaimed reliable information technology services provider and empower and develop corporate IT and business consultancy services so as to increase the skills and capacity of all Namibian workforce and beyond,” he says.
To Vlo competition in business is healthy because he believes that if there is no competition then there is no business. “When in business keep doing your work to make sure your clients are happy and receive quality services,” he says. “When you reach a point where you feel like giving up, just think about your huge breakthrough is just around the corner. If you desire success, you should commit to never giving up and you should keep in mind that successful people are ordinary people who make use of ordinary decisions to be successful so press on,” urges Vlo.