Aletta Shikololo
WINDHOEK – Organiser and founder of Kapana Festival, Melvin Amakutsi, and exhibitors have described this year’s event as a success.
The Kapana Festival is a Windhoek exhibition platform to celebrate street food culture, provide entertainment to young people and create opportunities for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses.
Amakutsi clarified that kapana is not only about meat (barbeque) being sold at Single Quarters in Katutura or elsewhere, but can be smileys (goat heads), chicken or related foodstuffs.
The festival serves as an umbrella under which all kinds of kapana are sold in a one-stop shop format by easing access to those seeking the great taste of truly Namibian street food.
The three-day event is an annual come-together and Amakutsi described the third year of the event as one of a kind, compared to previous years.
According to him, the festival is a great platform for young entrepreneurs and small medium enterprises to showcase their innovative ideas through sales of kapana and drinks.
He said: “As the market is growing, entrepreneurs can look forward to get more support and recognition at the festival.”
Talking to New Era, Lizelna
//Hoabes, an exhibitor at the festival, said the event created an opportunity for her as an upcoming entrepreneur to make income, exhibit and see if it will work for her and she was surprised that things finally worked out as she expected.
Aron Kagobe, another exhibitor, excitedly said he got the support he needed and thanked his customers for supporting local street food culture and he encouraged young entrepreneurs not to let these kinds of opportunities to pass by.
Amakutsi stated that despite a lot of events that were going on this weekend, the Kapana Festival turned out successful because the vendors are happy with the number of customers that showed up and the support they got from them was amazing.
He complained that young entrepreneurs get less support and sponsorship from corporates and if only they could get enough sponsors and involvement from other entrepreneurs and SMEs than it will be a turnaround for the Namibian business industry.
He said he is planning to host Kapana Festival Volume 3.1 depending on the response he would get and he ensured his customers that it will be bigger and better.