A local manufacturer of natural aloe products, Namaloe Vera, has recently introduced a programme that enables young unemployed graduates to volunteer and gain necessary skills in the manufacturing industry.
In an interview with Youth Corner, founder and CEO of Namaloe Vera, Risto Ashikoto said the programme aims to empower the youth to create high chances of employment among graduates.
“As we accelerate the socio-economic empowerment of our youth, we must continue to foster the spirit of volunteerism among the youth,” he said.
Since the initiation of the programme
in April, about 40 young Namibians have been attached to voluntary jobs within different departments of the company.
Ashikoto hopes to see the number
grow in the next few months.
Although the company is facing numerous challenges, including lack of resources, Ashikoto plans to offer permanent employment to the graduates.
Acknowledging the rise of the high unemployment rate in the country, he said: “I want to empower young people, especially the graduates, to be employed”.
Meanwhile, Ashikoto is appealing for funding from public and private entities to purchase machinery and increase productivity as well as achieve consensus on job creation.
“At the moment we need an aloe vera extraction machine, aloe vera processing equipment and label applicator machine,” he said.
The entrepreneur also aims to get his products barcoded and approach large retailers to have his product on their shelves.
Currently, the products can be found at the Local Merchant store and at Risto Trading Enterprises CC workshop in Otjomuise, Windhoek.
He intends to expand the business regionally through sales agents in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the rest of the world, focusing on Europe, where the benefits of the aloe plant are widely known.