Kwafela welcomed in the North Various stakeholders in Oshakati and Ongwediva have welcomed Namibia Media Holdings'' (NMH) Kwafela initiative, which is aimed at giving businesses the necessary exposure to grow through advertising.Kwafela, which is an Oshiwambo word meaning ''Help'', was launched today with the objective of seeking to promote and highlight the need for greater recognition of home-grown small and medium enterprises (SMEs), considering the role they play in the Namibian economy.
Through Kwafela SMEs from all 14 regions of Namibia will be able to advertise their businesses, products and services in Namibian Sun''s classifieds section.
One of those who welcomed the initiative was the owner of Luuk Electric and Construction, Lukas Nghinyengwa, who said SMEs do not get much exposure because of the cost of advertising in newspapers.
Nghinyengwa said SMEs face a number of challenges such as competition, the state of the economy and funding of their business operations.
He said he hoped Kwafela whould help SMEs to grow, as exposure is vital for businesses to thrive.
“Although we haven''t seen the impact of Kwafela yet, I hope that it will help SMEs to grow,” he said.
Asked whether local authorities are doing much to promote SMEs, Nghinyengwa said there have been efforts made by them although not much has been done to uplift small businesses.
The Oshakati town council''s Fidelis Kambozu said they welcomed Kwafela because it would help SMEs operating in Oshakati to grow.
Kambozu said the council did not have a funding programme for SMEs but it did provide them with the fitness certificates allowing them to do business in Oshakati.
“If Kwafela is giving SMEs the platform to get exposure, we welcome the initiative and if there is any assistance needed from our side our doors are always open,” Kambozu said.
The Ongwediva town council''s Salome Shidute said the council had made a number of positive strides to help SMEs.
These included the construction of the Oshiko opeAn market that would soon be operational, awarding tenders to SMEs and providing training to entrepreneurs.
Shidute said although she understood and welcomed the objectives of Kwafela, the initiative needed to be publicises in order for the SMEs to know that an opportunity like that exists for them.
“The idea should be marketed well and it''s up to how much effort has been put into it that the public will know and make use of Kwafela,” she said.
KENYA KAMBOWE