By Donna Collins
SWAKOPMUND – “Knowing how to run a business is the first step towards being economically self-sustained. If we have SMEs that are equipped to flourish, then the country will reap the benefits of established business that will contribute towards the economic growth of Namibia.”
This was said during a two-day training initiative for up and coming businessmen and women at the coast, which ended yesterday in Swakopmund.
The initiative was a joint effort between the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), the Swakopmund Municipality and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), to help SMEs in the Erongo Region to sharpen and develop their business skills.
Key speakers, Kaan Yarar, a Peace Corps Volunteer attached to the NCCI Swakopmund branch, Rauna Shipunda (Economic Development Officer at the Swakopmund Municipality) and Helvi Petrus (Regional Head Swakopmund Ministry Trade and Industry), were the inspiration behind the informative and productive session.
Forty-one prospective and established SME entrepreneurs from Swakopmund and Walvis Bay registered for the first collaboration training session for 2015.
The programme was split into strategic business planning, company registration and an SME programme designed to assist the establishment of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at the coast.
This is just one of the training initiatives the municipality, in collaboration with NCCI Swakopmund, decided to embark upon for the purpose of SME development. Training focussed mainly on mission and vision statements, strategy construction, goal-setting, and action plan creation to show SMEs in attendance the importance of taking their mission and vision and turning them into smart, actionable plans. Most of the people that attended are registered NCCI members and many of them are business owners
They received certificates of attendance at the end of the two-day session.
“This training initiative is very inspiring, because small business people at the end of the scale are usually not informed and have not been guided on how to run a business the way it should be.
“These guidelines will provide a lot of information to the participants on how to upgrade their current status, whether already running a small business concern, or those wanting to step into the business environment,” Helvi Petrus said.
A multiplicity of courses is lined up for the whole year, which will be conducted in conjunction with the NCCI-Swakopmund branch and other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry.