Local businesswoman Twapewa Kadhikwa continues to inspire and empower Namibians and SMEs in Africa to manage themselves and their businesses successfully.
And staying true to her passion to share lessons, opinions and secrets that she had learned over the years, the evergreen Kadhikwa recently unveiled the Academy of Cosmetology (AOC) along Barug Street in the Wanaheda area of Windhoek.
The academy offers both short- and full-time courses in beauty therapy, hair care technology, nail technology as well as entrepreneurship and management.
Speaking at the launch, Kadhikwa narrated how she matriculated, and not knowing what to do afterwards.
“I went to the nearest salon, and asked one of the ladies who owned a salon to hire me. She looked at me, and thought I was a joke. But eventually, she hired me as a cleaner… I’m grateful to date because if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. Today, I am able to do the same for younger girls, and nothing can make me happier,” she said.
The University of Namibia Bachelor of Commerce degree holder, who has never held a formal job, said she is allergic to unemployment, and would fight against it till the day she dies.
On behalf of higher education minister Dr. Itah Kandjii-Murangi, chairperson of the Khomas regional council, John Moonde thanked the academy for helping individuals create ways of becoming their own bosses and not having to rely on the government for jobs.
The AOC is a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) academy that is fully aligned with the Namibia Training Authority’s standards, qualifications and assessment framework.
The academy believes that the TVET sector will propel Namibian youth to the next level of their lives, and decrease worklessness.
A case in point is Martha Grace Mukete, who after returning home from Venezuela where she majored in inland fishing, fish farming and fishing engineering, couldn’t land a job in that field.
She joined Kadhikwa’s ‘Olafika SME Development and Mentorship programme’ in 2020, and thereafter started doing clients’ nails, and has been with her ever since.
To other graduates struggling to find a job in their fields of study, Mukete, who is now a moderator at the AOC, said she is a living testimony that there is always something else to do ,and a way to make a living from whatever talent one may have.