SWAPO parliamentarian Patience Masua says young Namibians want to engage in entrepreneurship but lack the necessary start-up capital.
Despite the financial challenges faced by young people, Masua said in the National Assembly on Tuesday efforts are being made to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Many young people have an aptitude for business, they have the talent, skills, ideas, and brilliance - all ingredients to build a successful business. They simply do not have the funding or the degree,” she said while contributing to a debate on SME financing and its importance to the economy.
The youthful lawmaker added: “SMEs are important for the growth and diversification of the economy. They create job opportunities, stimulate innovation, and contribute to the overall economic growth of our country”.
However, Masua said the government has taken steps to make it simpler for SMEs to obtain finance. This includes the skills-based lending facility offered by the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN).
“The DBN has provided crucial financial support to young entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses. Additionally, the government has also introduced various training programmes and mentorship initiatives to help SMEs grow and succeed in a competitive market.”
Masua also said the allocation of funds for small businesses in the 2024/25 budget towards the youth loan scheme is a step in the right direction to empower young entrepreneurs.
The budget of the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade this financial year was increased by 31.7% to N$365.5 million and a total of N$1.2 billion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Iipumbu Shiimi said funding has been allocated to the Equipment Aid Scheme, Start-Up Namibia, and EMPRETEC Namibia to facilitate domestic trade activities and build domestic entrepreneurship capacity, especially for SMEs.
When tabling the budget, Shiimi announced the lifting of the mandatory registration threshold for value-added tax (VAT) from N$500 000 to N$1 000 000.
He said this will relieve approximately 23 000 SMEs from VAT administration to focus on their core activities while simultaneously freeing capacity at the Namibia Revenue Agency to focus on large taxpayers. -Nampa