Building a sustainable future through local products
The Zone tracked down some young Namibian entrepreneurs who produce local products and own businesses. Entrepreneurship is one of best ways tackle poverty and ensuring economic growth.
Octavia Tsibes
Team Namibia, an organisation that supports Namibian businesses and entrepreneurs is excited to see young people realise the importance of local businesses in their communities. “It is positive in every way, self-employment creates viable new businesses that provide job opportunities for fellow Namibians,” Bärbel Kirchner, account director at Team Namibia, said.
The vision of Team Namibia is to make locally produced products and services known to consumers.
“It is crucial that all businesses become a part of this movement and join Team Namibia in the pursuit of creating more awareness for Namibian products and services,” Kirchner says.
Empowering young people
Team Namibia provides entrepreneurial training that is funded by the embassy of Finland to the value of N$1.76 million.
“The programme aims to train and mentor 25 selected small to medium-sized business owners from Katutura, by equipping them with the ability to establish successful enterprises. Therefore, economic sustainability will ultimately support the national efforts of creating employment, generating income and permanently reducing poverty,” Kirchner said.
Team Namibia has a category designed for SME’s called Associate Members. The requirements to join include having a business that is registered in Namibia being operational for at least eight months. All they need to do is fill in the Team Namibia Application form, attach relevant supporting documents of the company submit and to Team Namibia and pay an annual membership fee of N$1000.00.
Walking a mile in their shoes
Shilongo Leather Works, a well-known manufacturer of leather products, shared their story with The Zone. Their traditional ‘veldskoene’ are one of their most sought after products and they have a wide variety of styles and colour to fit any fashion trend.
Thomas Shilongo, general manager at Shilongo Leather Works further says that there is room for young entrepreneurs to successfully start and sustain their own businesses. According to him, they just have to “put their minds to it”.
“Namibia is a developing country and there is so much to do, the opportunities are endless,” he says.
The beard makes the man
Another upcoming Namibian product is ByDesign Cosmetics beard products. ByDesign Cosmetics try’s to find natural skin and beard solutions through making use of natural essential oils and shea butter.
“I wanted to create a diverse range of products for men's beards and discovered there was a gap in the market. However, I am trying to make something unique and specially since I feel like the cosmetics industry is not only focused on self-care but also the personalisation of products,” Lynn Komu, the young owner of ByDesign Cosmetics said.
According to her, there are opportunities for young people to start their own businesses but she is of the opinion that there is not enough room for innovation or funding for innovative ideas.
Having your cake and eating it
Tangi’s Cakery is a small home based bakery in Windhoek. They make all types of sweet treats like cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and macaroons, but their most popular products are their beautiful novelty cakes.
“All our products are made from scratch. We make our own cake mix which we use for our cakes and cupcakes,” Tangi Nakanduungileh, owner of Tangi’s Cakery, said.
When she started the business she did not know how many bakers operated in the area she was working in. In the meantime she has discovered that there are many bakers in town but each with a unique style.
“I started baking with my aunt when I was very young. Three years ago I attended a two-day baking course that was hosted by a business savvy young woman. Her story was inspiring and she was the epitome of an independent woman which is what I strived to be. After that I started teaching myself how to decorate cakes and then in 2017 I officially started my business,” Tangi Nakanduungileh said.
5 Key Steps to Start Your Own Small Business
1. Do the Research
Doing the research means learning about different industries in an attempt to identify problems or pain points that can be solved. You never know where the next business idea may originate.
2. Build a Business Plan
Once a problem is identified, create a business plan in such a way that it adds value and solves the problem. The business plan needs to specifically outline the problem and the proposed solution.
3. Talk to Customers
After identifying a problem in a specific industry and creating a business plan that can potentially solve it, validate the idea and business plan. It is possible to do this by picking up the phone and calling the types of potential customers who face the identified problem.
4. Implement the Idea
If the idea and business plan has been validated by speaking with customers in the industry, it is time to implement the idea and business plan. If a small business owner has followed the previous three steps, however, the overall risk should be reduced due to the fact that the idea and business plan have already been validated by potential customers.
5. Iterate as Time Goes on
The one constant when building any business is change. Every step can be followed to perfection and every idea can be fully validated, yet things still do not go according to plan. It is important for any small business owner to understand this possibility.
Team Namibia, an organisation that supports Namibian businesses and entrepreneurs is excited to see young people realise the importance of local businesses in their communities. “It is positive in every way, self-employment creates viable new businesses that provide job opportunities for fellow Namibians,” Bärbel Kirchner, account director at Team Namibia, said.
The vision of Team Namibia is to make locally produced products and services known to consumers.
“It is crucial that all businesses become a part of this movement and join Team Namibia in the pursuit of creating more awareness for Namibian products and services,” Kirchner says.
Empowering young people
Team Namibia provides entrepreneurial training that is funded by the embassy of Finland to the value of N$1.76 million.
“The programme aims to train and mentor 25 selected small to medium-sized business owners from Katutura, by equipping them with the ability to establish successful enterprises. Therefore, economic sustainability will ultimately support the national efforts of creating employment, generating income and permanently reducing poverty,” Kirchner said.
Team Namibia has a category designed for SME’s called Associate Members. The requirements to join include having a business that is registered in Namibia being operational for at least eight months. All they need to do is fill in the Team Namibia Application form, attach relevant supporting documents of the company submit and to Team Namibia and pay an annual membership fee of N$1000.00.
Walking a mile in their shoes
Shilongo Leather Works, a well-known manufacturer of leather products, shared their story with The Zone. Their traditional ‘veldskoene’ are one of their most sought after products and they have a wide variety of styles and colour to fit any fashion trend.
Thomas Shilongo, general manager at Shilongo Leather Works further says that there is room for young entrepreneurs to successfully start and sustain their own businesses. According to him, they just have to “put their minds to it”.
“Namibia is a developing country and there is so much to do, the opportunities are endless,” he says.
The beard makes the man
Another upcoming Namibian product is ByDesign Cosmetics beard products. ByDesign Cosmetics try’s to find natural skin and beard solutions through making use of natural essential oils and shea butter.
“I wanted to create a diverse range of products for men's beards and discovered there was a gap in the market. However, I am trying to make something unique and specially since I feel like the cosmetics industry is not only focused on self-care but also the personalisation of products,” Lynn Komu, the young owner of ByDesign Cosmetics said.
According to her, there are opportunities for young people to start their own businesses but she is of the opinion that there is not enough room for innovation or funding for innovative ideas.
Having your cake and eating it
Tangi’s Cakery is a small home based bakery in Windhoek. They make all types of sweet treats like cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and macaroons, but their most popular products are their beautiful novelty cakes.
“All our products are made from scratch. We make our own cake mix which we use for our cakes and cupcakes,” Tangi Nakanduungileh, owner of Tangi’s Cakery, said.
When she started the business she did not know how many bakers operated in the area she was working in. In the meantime she has discovered that there are many bakers in town but each with a unique style.
“I started baking with my aunt when I was very young. Three years ago I attended a two-day baking course that was hosted by a business savvy young woman. Her story was inspiring and she was the epitome of an independent woman which is what I strived to be. After that I started teaching myself how to decorate cakes and then in 2017 I officially started my business,” Tangi Nakanduungileh said.
5 Key Steps to Start Your Own Small Business
1. Do the Research
Doing the research means learning about different industries in an attempt to identify problems or pain points that can be solved. You never know where the next business idea may originate.
2. Build a Business Plan
Once a problem is identified, create a business plan in such a way that it adds value and solves the problem. The business plan needs to specifically outline the problem and the proposed solution.
3. Talk to Customers
After identifying a problem in a specific industry and creating a business plan that can potentially solve it, validate the idea and business plan. It is possible to do this by picking up the phone and calling the types of potential customers who face the identified problem.
4. Implement the Idea
If the idea and business plan has been validated by speaking with customers in the industry, it is time to implement the idea and business plan. If a small business owner has followed the previous three steps, however, the overall risk should be reduced due to the fact that the idea and business plan have already been validated by potential customers.
5. Iterate as Time Goes on
The one constant when building any business is change. Every step can be followed to perfection and every idea can be fully validated, yet things still do not go according to plan. It is important for any small business owner to understand this possibility.
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