Onesmus Embula

OTJIWARONGO  - Otjozondjupa Governor Otto Ipinge during the launch of the annual Tsumkwe Trade Expo 2019 said the event will be a golden opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region to expand their horizons to new openings and in the process securing new ventures by tapping into new markets and promoting sustainable development. 
The annual cultural and business Tsumkwe expo launched last Friday in Otjiwarongo aimed to promote trade and exhibition is envisaged to take place for the first time in Tsumkwe, a zone with vast tourism opportunities, over the duration of five days from July 30 – 4 August 2019 under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the future”. 
At the occasion, Ipinge stated the event’s theme propagates for poverty eradication, employment creation and economic upliftment of all Namibians, stating that can only be achieved with unity of purpose in line with the National Development Plan of Namibia. 
“I trust that the theme also calls for residents of Tsumkwe to start and continue taking steps and making strides in creating a Namibian image for themselves, which can also be conferred on to future generations as an eye opening exercise that will take them to greater heights,” he said.
Being a patron of the annual Tsumkwe Trade Expo, governor Ipinge wishes to witness the initiative securing proposed sale targets over the years, thus, urging the organizers of the event to get extra creative and aggressive in sales methods and marketing ideas in order to capture a larger audience for the occasion.
“I can mention that tough times need tough approaches and this are for us to get tougher and not use the current climate as a negative block but rather an energizing spring board for new entrepreneurial ideas such as initiatives of this kind,” he narrates.
The politician encouraged all stakeholders in various sectors and called upon business personalities, government and private entities and members of the public including potential sponsors to pledge their support by providing necessary financial assistance for the expo festival to take place and become a success as initially planned.
“Let us collectively commit our efforts as a region and as Namibians in promoting the development of our fertile creative industries to fulfil their potential,” said Ipinge.
The event will embrace fun-filled activities such as trade and exhibition, cultural performance and horse racing competing for grand prizes in different categories among others. Moreover, the event aims to accommodate between 50 and 100 exhibitors and targets to attract the audience of over 3,000 people from various sectors over the five days during its first edition.