One Economy, Novanam empowering communities

The First Lady of The Republic of Namibia, Monica Geingos was accompanied by her team from the One Economy Foundation to Luderitz.

In collaboration with NovaNam Group, the One Economy Foundation empowered the community of Luderitz with amazing programmes. The #BreakFree from Violence Campaign is centred on creating awareness around various forms of violence and how as individuals, can we create a society that is no longer accepting of violence.

NovaNam employees, frontline workers, youth, parents, and the larger part of the Luderitz community were given the opportunity to interact with Geingos, and her team, and they were given a platform to share their stories and experiences.

During the session, Geingos indicated that these engagements are done to help our nation gain better insight into the issues of violence, its root causes, impacts, and ways to mitigate it. She also called on fathers to play a role in their children's lives in terms of mentoring and guidance.

The #BeFree Movement focused on various engagements centred around unpacking social ills affecting young people. An issue that came out strongly was the lack of parental involvement. Young people feel strongly that the absence of parents in the day-to-day lives of their children is the leading cause of young people resorting to reckless behaviour and activities such as substance abuse, crime and deviance.

Additional focus group discussions with the youth indicated that they are facing a few challenges, such as substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, Lack of recreational facilities in Luderitz and the need for a Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Luderitz.

Entrepreneurship

The youth opportunities pillar facilitated a youth micro- entrepreneurs masterclass which focused on building capacity, transforming business, and improving socio-economic outcomes for Youth Micro-Entrepreneurs. The training aimed to equip young entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to run sustainable and profitable businesses.

The entrepreneurs from Kharas Region benefited from a wide variety of business skills development sessions that included topics such as market data analysis, financial management, statutory and compliance in the context of business, mental health, and market access.

In addition, entrepreneurs were provided with information on how to access capital, recognise trade and procurement opportunities, and leverage growth and scaling.

The highlights of the event were the competitive presentations made by 10 attendees from diverse industries who managed to give innovative and inspiring pitches. Stefanus Ngolo, the proprietor of Holistic Fitness Centre, scooped the grand prize of N$10 000.00.

Wendey Fisch, the owner of Print Jungle Investments and a graphic designer, won the second prize of N$5 000.00. Furthermore, the Development Bank of Namibia sponsored a business mentorship for the two winners and the third runner-up, Yazeet Mwiya, owner of Ayin Trading Enterprises.

The training was in collaboration with NovaNam Group, Coca-Cola Namibia, Development Bank of Namibia, SMEs Compete, BIPA, Financial Literacy Initiative Namibia, Ministry of Gender, Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, and Pupkewitz Foundation.

The vulnerable community members of Luderitz received 200 food parcels from One Economy Foundation in collaboration with NovaNam Group and NovaNam also sponsored two learners for the Talented Individual Programme (TIP) a pillar under the One Economy Foundation which identifies children from low-income households who have high academic potential. The two learners will be selected from the Kharas Region.

NovaNam Group Managing Director Edwin Kamatoto thanked the Office of the First Lady for allowing the Luderitz community to air their voices and further thanked Geingos for indicating to the community where they can go to receive help when it comes to SGBV.