The central round of the 2021 Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off Competition, which was launched on 07 May 2021, will take place at the Soweto Market in Katutura on Saturday.

The competition, which aims to promote entrepreneurship, was launched in May this year, with the coastal round taking place in the same month; however, the competition had to be halted due to government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions.

In a media statement on Tuesday, Nedbank’s Manager for Communication and Public Relations Selma Kaulinge said with the COVID-19 restrictions now relaxed, the central and northern rounds of the Kapana Cook-Off are scheduled to take place on Saturday and on 02 October respectively. The final will take place in Windhoek on 16 October.

“The winner will be given the opportunity to either start a new business or formalise an existing one with the winning prize of N. dollars 100 000, which includes a fully-fledged mobile food truck and a cash prize of N. dollars 10 000. Second and third place winners will win cash prizes of N.dollars 7 000 and N.dollars 3 000 respectively,” she said.

Kaulinge went on to say COVID-19 has highlighted that SMEs are an important driving force of economic growth and an important engine for job creation. The Nedbank Kapana Cook-off is one of the vehicles used by Nedbank Namibia to reach out to the market’s small players who are already running a small business and aspire to expand and formalise their operations.

“It is run on a national scale, demonstrating how determined we are to reach Namibians everywhere. No one is left behind, the winner could be anywhere in Namibia, and the cook-off provides an opportunity someone may never have dreamed of,” she said.

To date, Nedbank Namibia has invested over N.dollars 3 million in hosting the national competition in support of small businesses and to celebrate Namibian cuisine.

The Nedbank Kapana Cook-off is held in collaboration with Bakpro and the Namibian Chefs Association.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency