The Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas has said for the youth to be change agents, they need to be supported and capacitated.
Kantema-Gaomas said this during the one day ‘Beyond Me’ boot camp held for 80 young people from all constituencies in the Kavango East Region on Thursday.
“Beyond Me was birthed from an idea to build capacity amongst the youth, who are change agents in our society and communities,” she said.
She said the one-day boot camp or workshop is aimed at empowering the 80 change agents in the region in agripreneurship, which refers to entrepreneurship in agriculture.
According to the deputy minister micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) play a pivotal role in the economic development of any country.
She said SMEs are important in employment creation, poverty alleviation and economic development in both developed and developing economies.
Furthermore she noted that research highlights the causes of failure of MSMEs as limited access to finance and high cost of finance, amongst others.
“Over the years and through different interventions the ministry has joined forces with various stakeholders to address the plight of unemployment amongst the Namibian youth,” she stated.
She said youth employment creation among young people is both a moral imperative and an economic necessity as emphasised by the government in the Harambee Prosperity Plan.
“This framework explains that youth entrepreneurship is an important sub-pillar to realising economic growth and development,” the deputy minister added.
Kantema-Gaomas said she looks forward to one day seeing their innovation creating solutions to current problems in the communities across the regions and the country at large.
Marketing and Communications Manager at Agribank, Rino Muranda, said the boot camp is funded by Agribank and that the programmes presented during the one-day event are tailored to address some of the factors that impact the growth of entrepreneurs.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency