RUNDU – The Ngandu Festival, which debuted last year, will once again return this Easter weekend.
Event organiser Andreas Gustav said during the launch last week that the festival aims to create a network for exhibitors and artists.
The festival, which was first held last April, is a platform that is intended to offer various young people from different backgrounds the opportunity to learn the necessary skills, including entrepreneurship, for them to be able to sell, grow and showcase their products and services. “We saw an opportunity. The overall feedback from the exhibitors was positive which is why we aim that this year’s edition be bigger and better. We also aim to collaborate with established entrepreneurs and artists to create an engagement that will help highlight to the rest of Namibia what we can offer in the two Kavango regions,” he said. During the press briefing the Ngandu events management team shared a 15-minute documentary that gave insight into the event hosted last year.
“The event’s success had exceeded expectations in terms of attendance. Over 1 600 people attended the event last year and the second take aims to nationalise the event by promoting the tourism luxuries the Kavango regions offer, on top of the art and craft they are recognised for, and the impact it has on the community,” he said. The event is slated for 10-11 April at Rundu sports stadium. Activities of the festival will include sports tournaments like volleyball and 7-a-side football, performances by various DJs and musicians from the two regions as well as services and products from exhibitors.
The festival prides itself in promoting business empowerment by using multiple stalls to create a stage for exhibitors from various spheres to promote, sell and develop their products. “One of the pillars focuses on introducing a mentorship programme to help create an effective and well-balanced learning process for both the mentors and mentees. The end goal is to ensure success for the parties,” Gustav noted.