Lissony Njembo
From being an employee to a successful business owner, Masheti Hamutenya saw an opportunity in the panel beating industry when he dropped out of school.
Without any formal education in this industry, Hamutenya, who stayed near a panel-beating workshop in 2000, in Windhoek, gradually showed interest in panel beating until he sought employment. His initial goal was to earn a living and stay off the streets.
“I started by scraping cars and covering them with newspapers. Later, I began spraying and became very passionate about it; that’s when I fell in love with panel beating,” he said.
“I took time to make my work perfect while I was working in Windhoek. My salary was N$1 700 per month,” he added.
Later in 2007, he moved to Okahandja and started his own workshop in the Nau-Aib location. Today, he has employed a 16-year-old school dropout.
He reminds me of my journey because I was almost the same age as him when I started. I want to assist him so that he can stay away from the streets, he said.
“I want to tell young people to work hard and not consume too much alcohol, as this might ruin their future.” He added, “Sometimes, I would get customers who had just been in recent car accidents. They would tell me about how they do not have enough money to fix their cars, but I always try to assist where I can.”
Petrus Elias (23), another employee at the workshop, narrated that he was staying in the north and was impressed by what his uncle was doing. He asked him for a job; without hesitation, “he asked me to join him.”
“He is the best boss. I am really grateful that I am employed; I would really like to have my own panel-beating business one day,” he added. The business is booming, he said. “The workshop is doing better than ever. There never goes a week without a car being fixed. When the month-end is approaching, business is always good, as we fix five or more vehicles per week. I would like to have a registered business and my own workshop soon,” the entrepreneur said.
