The Mariental Trade Festival , which took place over the past weekend , has been hailed as a success due to the strong turnout of both visitors and exhibitors . ' We made a lot more money than last year ,' one of the organisers of the event , Mariental Municipality local economic development officer Linus Sinvula , said . Sinvula in an interview with Nampa said the festival generated approximately N . dollars 100 000 , a substantial increase from last year . He said the profits will be use as seed capital for next year ' s festival . The increase in income was mainly attributed to the higher number of exhibitors and visitors , as well as the fact that there was a new attraction in the form of a merry - go - round . The chairperson of the event , Unomasa Kavita , expressed satisfaction with the overall outcome . ' The Mariental Trade Festival met many of our expectations . We had a strong turnout with close to 10 000 visitors passing through the gates and showing a wide interest in local businesses and other corporate stalls and services ,' Kavita stated . Looking ahead , Kavita highlighted plans to further improve next year ' s festival . These include optimising the layout for better flow and ensuring that all booths are easily accessible and visible . The organisers also plan to reach out to more companies and sponsors . Nampa also spoke to one of the exhibitors at the festival , Julien Khiba , who is a sales agent for an insurance company . ' The festival provided me with a platform to engage with clients and provide them with more information on our individual funeral covers . A lot of people were interested ,' said KhibaSource:The Namibia News Agency