25-year-old Victoria Joseph is keen to empower women through her business Victoria Nanny Agency.
The agency was established in response to a strong need, articulated among particularly women in Namibia, for reliable and effective home-based child care, and to educate women in providing proper child care so that children can reach their full development in simulation, as well as to eradicate child negligence and abuse by nannies in general.
Growing up with her father, who instilled the love for entrepreneurship and self-independence in her, Joseph started her nanny business – not only to be her own boss but to educate and provide jobs that pay fair and above-minimum wages as per the labour law.
“We provide professional nanny training, including first aid to nannies and caregivers. We also make sure our nannies go through a mandatory health and criminal check, as well as reference and background check after a nanny is selected by the client. We want to provide well-equipped, trained nannies to help children with stimulation,” explained Joseph, who has also partnered with the NUST paramedic department.
Joseph is passionate about uplifting young people and equipping them to uplift others. She is also passionate about supporting women as they beat the odds to become the best version of themselves.
The entrepreneur, who counts her mother as her inspiration, said: “My mom was both a domestic worker and a nanny. I came to find out that the work she was doing was a lot and she was poorly paid because she was not educated enough to demand higher wages. That was when I came up with the idea of starting a business that could provide trained nannies.”
Together with her assistant, Joseph trains her nannies in areas such as Covid-19 prevention and awareness hygiene, professional ethics for nannies and caregivers’ basic first aid for infants and toddlers.
Through her training, her employees could receive certificates that would allow them to get paid fair wages to be able to feed their families.
“Most of these women come from deprived backgrounds and people tend to look down on them or disrespect – which is not fair. I want them to be empowered and respected,” stated Joseph, adding she also wants women to be able to escape domestic violence or abuse from partners because they are dependent.
Victoria Nanny Agency currently employs 60 women and has prospects of growing the number.
According to her, her company plays a role in contributing to the economy by helping to decrease unemployment, especially that of women.
Asked about her goal for her agency, Joseph said she wants to be able to offer their services across Namibia and set the gold standard when it comes to childcare.