Deputy Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, Verna Sinimbo, is confident that platforms which promote entrepreneurship awareness in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), help to develop a culture of innovation which extends to other parts of Africa.
Sinimbo, who was speaking on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Start-Up SADC Conference in Swakopmund, said Africa as a continent has the spirit and commitment to contribute to socio-economic development.
“SADC, and Africa as a continent, are rich in diversity and we should all do what we can to uplift everyone involved in contributing towards economic freedom for its inhabitants. The ministry, therefore, applauds the hard work and commitment displayed by the leadership of local entrepreneurship associations of Namibia and Start-up SADC,” she expressed.
Established in 2020, Start-up SADC is an annual business forum and entrepreneurship colloquium designed to bring emerging and established businesses within the SADC region together, in order to increase the promotion of trade among member states, among others.
Co-Founder Moss Sereme told Nampa the forum highlights commercial opportunities in the SADC region which benefit entrepreneurs, as well as create an annual platform to discuss challenges and issues affecting business owners.
“We want to bring the current 15 member states together every year in order to deliberate on issues that are affecting trade and inter-trade of SMEs and hope for collaborations from these businesses in order to make it easier to trade in a different country from the one you are from,” Sereme noted.
He added that it is important to make entrepreneurship more common within the region by ensuring that sustainability is built and that SME owners in SADC have one voice in terms of investment so that countries with financial muscle are called upon to invest in SADC as a whole.
Sereme stressed that although one of the biggest challenges faced by SMEs in SADC is funding, the region has the ability and capability to make it in the business world.
The two-day conference is being attended by entrepreneurs from around SADC.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
