Energising your ideas

Elizabeth Joseph After the jury of local experts selected the winners of the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge in Namibia, they were presented with their awards at an official ceremony held on 28 February at the Am Weinberg conference centre.The three winners were Tjatjara Kaveto in first place with his company idea ‘The NEST’, Jona Iriya in second place for her project ‘Nam-Oceanic Kelp Enterprise CC’ and in third Place Sajeni Lebogang for ‘Namib Bee’. The prizes in monetary value were N$100 000 for third place, N$200 000 for second place and N$300 000 for first place. The NEST- Worldview Technology manufactures innovative waterless toilets called ‘The NEST’ that are beautifully designed, easy to install and hygienic for areas that currently have no sewage system. The toilets are 100% eco-friendly with no smell.Namibia has a rich marine environment, and due to that, resources are abundant. Nam-Oceanic Kelp collects seaweed from the coast, which is considered as a waste and uses it to make chicken feed. These seaweed has rare nutrients needed to boost chicken production. Namib Bee recruits Individuals and communities into a trained and closely supported network of beekeepers. Participants will be empowered to adopt modern, highly productive beekeeping systems. Besides the monetary prizes, these young entrepreneurs received personalised support and coaching from Gordon Institute of Business School (GIBS) and a communications campaign to publicise their project.The winner of the Top Female Entrepreneur award, a new addition to the 2018-2019 Challenge to support women in business is, Jona Iriya of Nam-Oceanic Kelp Enterprise CC. “I am proud of the efforts that i saw from all the candidates thus far, and although I would’ve liked to see every project walk away as winners there can only be one winner, in this case three. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for all the winners and every participant,” said Total Namibia managing director, Natal Kakwambi. The Total Challenge, held simultaneously in 55 countries, 37 of which are in Africa, 11 in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, four in the Americas, and three in Europe, reaffirms Total’s commitment to social and economic development in the host countries worldwide. Helping innovative young entrepreneurs to realise their projects, the Challenge strengthens the local social fabric.The second Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge received nearly 50 000 entries, of which more than 15 000 were fully completed. Overall, 825 finalists presented their projects to a jury of experts, with 165 winning prizes.

Energising your ideas

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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Energising your ideas

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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