Okahao meets demand for SME facilities
Overwhelming demand for space at Okahao’s SME incubation centre has prompted the town council to seek funding for expanding the facility.
The initial investment in the centre was N$4.6 million. It opened its doors in January this year and immediately filled up.
The local authority of the far-northern town is now looking for N$4 million more to expand the facility.
According to the town’s manager for local economic development and tourism, Simon Shinguto, the project was funded by the Local Economic Development Agency (LEDA).
He said the council found out that there were many small businesses offering different services and products, but they were not exposed because their outlet were hidden from potential customers.
“We decided to bring them together and have a one-stop-shop centre. The centre became operational in January this year, and many people flocked to our offices applying for space here, but there was no more space. We decided to expand the centre so that everything one wants will be available here,” explained Shinguto.
Shinguto said the centre hosted hairdressers, tailors, repair shops, motor mechanics and many other services.
A 24-year-old a graduate from the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), Helmut Kadhila, said he started his carpentry business at Okahao last year and since he moved to the incubation centre he started getting more customers.
“Operating in a centre like this is good for us. There are outlets that attract many customers and when they come here they also get a chance to get to know what other service providers offer here,” he said.
Another tenant, David Panduleni, said he was happy with the site as it was easily accessible to customers.
ILENI NANDJATO
The initial investment in the centre was N$4.6 million. It opened its doors in January this year and immediately filled up.
The local authority of the far-northern town is now looking for N$4 million more to expand the facility.
According to the town’s manager for local economic development and tourism, Simon Shinguto, the project was funded by the Local Economic Development Agency (LEDA).
He said the council found out that there were many small businesses offering different services and products, but they were not exposed because their outlet were hidden from potential customers.
“We decided to bring them together and have a one-stop-shop centre. The centre became operational in January this year, and many people flocked to our offices applying for space here, but there was no more space. We decided to expand the centre so that everything one wants will be available here,” explained Shinguto.
Shinguto said the centre hosted hairdressers, tailors, repair shops, motor mechanics and many other services.
A 24-year-old a graduate from the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), Helmut Kadhila, said he started his carpentry business at Okahao last year and since he moved to the incubation centre he started getting more customers.
“Operating in a centre like this is good for us. There are outlets that attract many customers and when they come here they also get a chance to get to know what other service providers offer here,” he said.
Another tenant, David Panduleni, said he was happy with the site as it was easily accessible to customers.
ILENI NANDJATO
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