Trade minister warns against ‘thinking small’
Industrialisation and trade minister Lucia Iipumbu has warned Namibian entrepreneurs against thinking small.
"It is ingrained in our minds - we do business for survival and not to grow," she said.
She advised Namibian entrepreneurs to consider the potential growth of their businesses.
"If you wake up early every morning to bake doughnuts and sell them at a construction site where there are twenty people, and you only sell your twenty doughnuts regardless of whether you finish by 11:00 in the morning, don't just make twenty doughnuts," she said.
Shaping skills
Iipumbu said initiatives under her ministry aimed at sharpening business acumen are intent on changing this mindset. "We are trying to instil in [entrepreneurs] the idea that they should consider the possibility of larger profit margins. If you make doughnuts, think about expanding to cake baking and from cake baking to exports."
She warned against being content with a hand-to-mouth existence.
"Many entrepreneurs think that if they can make just N$20, it's enough to buy 500 grams of maize meal for dinner. Think bigger. Consider moving to the next level. Use a different approach and gain a broader perspective," she said.
The minister made these comments during a press conference at the re-establishment of the EMPRETEC entrepreneurship programme under her ministry. The programme promotes entrepreneurship as a vital component of economic growth and development in the country.
"Such programmes are important. When you come here, you may have been busy with sales and put your daily profit under your pillow, but maybe you hear here of someone who opened a savings account, and that broadens your thinking, and you do the same," she said.
Regarding the dominance of South African products on the Namibian market, Iipumbu said Namibian business owners should aim to become part of the value chain in relation to the export market.
Equality
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Namibia, Alka Bhatia, said the overwhelming majority of participants in the programme are women.
"The participation of women is something to be happy about, but the fact that there are mainly women here is something we need to work on. The foundation of development is gender equality and this is something that is happening in Namibia – boys and men are being left behind and neglected. Women are being economically empowered, which is great, of course, but men are being left behind," she said.
Trade minister Lucia Iipumbu. Photo: File
- [email protected]
"It is ingrained in our minds - we do business for survival and not to grow," she said.
She advised Namibian entrepreneurs to consider the potential growth of their businesses.
"If you wake up early every morning to bake doughnuts and sell them at a construction site where there are twenty people, and you only sell your twenty doughnuts regardless of whether you finish by 11:00 in the morning, don't just make twenty doughnuts," she said.
Shaping skills
Iipumbu said initiatives under her ministry aimed at sharpening business acumen are intent on changing this mindset. "We are trying to instil in [entrepreneurs] the idea that they should consider the possibility of larger profit margins. If you make doughnuts, think about expanding to cake baking and from cake baking to exports."
She warned against being content with a hand-to-mouth existence.
"Many entrepreneurs think that if they can make just N$20, it's enough to buy 500 grams of maize meal for dinner. Think bigger. Consider moving to the next level. Use a different approach and gain a broader perspective," she said.
The minister made these comments during a press conference at the re-establishment of the EMPRETEC entrepreneurship programme under her ministry. The programme promotes entrepreneurship as a vital component of economic growth and development in the country.
"Such programmes are important. When you come here, you may have been busy with sales and put your daily profit under your pillow, but maybe you hear here of someone who opened a savings account, and that broadens your thinking, and you do the same," she said.
Regarding the dominance of South African products on the Namibian market, Iipumbu said Namibian business owners should aim to become part of the value chain in relation to the export market.
Equality
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Namibia, Alka Bhatia, said the overwhelming majority of participants in the programme are women.
"The participation of women is something to be happy about, but the fact that there are mainly women here is something we need to work on. The foundation of development is gender equality and this is something that is happening in Namibia – boys and men are being left behind and neglected. Women are being economically empowered, which is great, of course, but men are being left behind," she said.
Trade minister Lucia Iipumbu. Photo: File
- [email protected]
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