Imelda Munika
The Namibia Premier Business Awards (NPBA) are just not about acknowledging success, they are about honouring the hard work, innovation and resilience of entrepreneurs who shape the domestic economic landscape. The awards ceremony, organised by the trade and industrialisation ministry in conjunction with local businesses, took place last week Thursday, 7 December.
Officiating at the event, finance and public enterprises deputy minister, Maureen Hinda-Mbuende, said; “Namibia has an open economy that is susceptible to global market competition. As a result, the country has been experiencing various challenging problems over the years, particularly the trade imbalance resulting from our limited production basket. Besides high-tech products and consumables, which form part of Namibia’s main imports, the country continues to import large quantities of basic commodities and other products that our business community can venture into”.
The deputy minister added that entrepreneurship remains the lifeblood of economic development and said the awards aim to foster an environment where innovation thrives, business flourishes and the economy prospers.
“Businesses should fully utilise the leverage on government effects such as trade agreements negotiated to gain market access for our products, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, hence the call is now upon entrepreneurs to work hard and utilise this opportunity made available to you,” Hinda-Mbuende added.
This year’s Namibia business awards consisted of different categories with several nominees in each category. However, inevitably there could only be one winner per category. The Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Daniel Hooft, founder and CEO of Kelp Blue and founder of Blue School. The Corporate Turnaround Award went to Sam Shivute from the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) and Andre Messika from Andre Messika Diamonds received the Global Excellence Award.
The SME of the Year Award went to Biocol Hygiene while Momentum Metropolitan received the Long-Term and Short-Term Insurer of the Year. Meanwhile, the Service of the Year Award was scooped by MTC and the Executive of the Year Award was given to Gys Joubert from Gondwana Collection. The recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Sven Thieme, executive chairman of Ohlthaver & List. “I’m deeply honoured by the award that I received today. This award is a result of us living our persona, which is passion, care, and authenticity,” said Thieme. - imeldamunika@gmail.com