Business Reporter
THE Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, has said that the country’s pace of industrialization will be stunted without the required entrepreneurship and enterprise development. The Mines minister made these remarks at the 18th Tsumeb Copper Festival, held under the theme “Empowering Entrepreneurship in a Sustainable Namibia.”
Alweendo said that entrepreneurship makes this edition of the Copper Festival special.
“Entrepreneurship is the fabric of the modern global economy. Tsumeb, as the industrial capital of the Oshikoto Region, occupies a strategic location in the northern part of our country. The town’s significance is further underscored by its central position in Namibia’s major road networks, including the Trans-Kunene, Trans-Caprivi, and Trans-Kalahari highways, all of which converge here. Moreover, a railway system connects Tsumeb with the rest of the country. On the other hand, with a unique blend of abundant resources such as water, copper, and one of the world’s largest copper concentrate smelters, Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, the town has been positioned as a centre for businesses and entrepreneurship,” Alweendo said.
He added that the theme of this year’s Copper Festival has significant relevance to the national economic development endeavours that we are undertaking.
“As you may well know, one of the challenges we have in our country that stands in the way of rapid sustainable economic and industrial growth is the acute lack of social capital, specifically that of entrepreneurship skills. The majority of our graduates are very much wanting in this area. Moreover, there is a prevalent belief that only the Government can afford to distribute jobs. Not only is this wrong and infeasible in a country like ours where limited financial resources need to be deployed in the most efficient manner, but it is also impossible to imagine the country sustaining economic growth with a balance sheet that is heavy on government expenditure,” Alweendo said.
He added that entrepreneurship development is not only the sine qua non for the creation of massive employment opportunities, but it is also the most reliable driver of domestic industrial development. In this respect, I strongly urge our youths to engage in entrepreneurship activities.
“Tsumeb has the potential to become Namibia’s focal point for agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, and innovation. This means that the town offers various avenues for entrepreneurship. I encourage local and national entrepreneurs to take advantage of these opportunities. The Government will continue to strengthen its efforts to ensure the expansion and enhancement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this regard, more emphasis will be made on encouragement and provision of funding and market support. Efforts are also being made on the removal of constraints that inhibit entrepreneurship activities and the growth of small businesses into medium and large-scale competitive enterprises. However, the onus is on entrepreneurs to continue to develop their entrepreneurship skills to remain competitive. Therefore, I encourage true entrepreneurs to take advantage of the business opportunities and incentives that the Government offers,” Alweendo concluded.
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