Investment board looks to grow small businesses

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) has launched its High Potential Pool Project to accelerate the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in Namibia.

The HPᶾ initiative, as the board’s executive director for MSME development Dino Ballotti affectionately calls the project, is all about market access.

“This is a pool of Namibia’s very best scalable micro and small businesses that will be offered opportunities to participate in a variety of export-focused capacity building and market access platforms and facilities,” he said. “The capacity of the High Potential Pool is unlimited, budget permitting.”

Participants will enjoy the board’s support in terms of international business linkages, trade mission support, international trade fair participation support, export training, business advisory, coaching and mentoring where required.

At the occasion the chairperson and chief executive officer of the board, Nangula Uaandja, said the micro, small and medium enterprise sector has real potential to create much needed jobs for Namibia, which is why its development was elevated to the attention of the development board. “MSMEs can do employment, if we elevate them and plug them with investors,” she said.

According the her, “we as NIPDB are responsible for the new formula which includes MSMEs,” and that, “to unlock the opportunities we need to build relationships of trust.” These relationships will be at the heart of HPᶾ which already boasts participation from Namibian commercial banks including Standard Bank Namibia, Bank Windhoek, Nedbank Namibia, FNB Namibia and Letshego Bank.

The commercial banks will partner with the board to afford small businesses selected through HPᶾ opportunities to secure access to markets by paying for their participation in identified trade gatherings.

“The focus is on market access which is important because that is where the space is. Let us build an inclusive society,” she said.

PARTICIPATION

Participating small businesses are selected from the board’s growing SME data-base, according to specific criteria including registered Namibian businesses participating in key sectors, with existing prototypes of products and already creating at least some employment, elaborated Chaze Nalisa, NIPDB manager for MSME capacity building and market access, as well as MSME development, innovation and acceleration.

She said that selected small businesses will benefit from the NPᶾ for a maximum of 36 months, by when they will have had to graduate by growing into big businesses.

HPᶾ is one of several initiatives with the board’s Know2Grow programme, according to Ballotti, which will help showcase high potential micro and small businesses at local, regional and international platforms. Other K2G initiatives include NextGen Entrepreneurs targeting, 18 to 35 year-old emerging business people, TechNovation Social in support of culture and creative industries, as well as regional information dissemination.

‘SO, SO SPECIAL’

Also speaking at the launch event was Namibian musician and entrepreneur Eric Sell (Ees) who said, “I wish I had NIPDB 20 years ago,” when he realised that living off music alone would be impracticle, and added merchandising to his repetoir.

Since then Ees has grown his Nam-Flavour brand to include clothing, energy drinks and biltong. Quality is key, he says, as well as consistency and a love for what you are doing, but being Namibian is a bonus, according to him.

“Be proud to be a Namibian. Don’t be afraid. We are so, so special,” he told fellow local entrepreneurs at the launch.

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