MTC ploughs N$1.5 million in its MTC 4Life project to empower entrepreneurs

Engraved in its nature to serve and continue to improve the lives of ordinary Namibians, Mobile Telecommunications Ltd, MTC, has allocated a total of N$1.5 million for the second undertaking of the MTC 4Life project. The project, which is a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiative is driven to empower aspiring and existing young entrepreneurs across various trades in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector.

Launched in 2022, the socio-economic project will provide training and upscaling programs to 40 young Namibians between the ages of 18 and 35 to gain practical and entrepreneurial skills in the following eight trades: nail artistry, brick manufacturing, animation, hairdressing, catering, sewing, baking, and barbering, respectively.

This year, the project has adapted a targeted approach, focusing only on five regions, namely, Otjozondjupa, Kunene, Omusati, Kavango East, and Kavango West. The applicants must be from these regions.

Shedding light on the exciting project, MTC’s Public Relations Officer, Erasmus Nekundi, explained that “this year the project will empower 40 youth individuals from five regions. In contrast, last year applicants were from all 14 regions. However, post-training assessment conducted in partnership with SME Compete has yielded that we use a more targeted approach to effectively streamline resources for a more impactful outcome.”

Nekundi added that “after the training, each candidate will receive a toolkit and capital of N$5000. This is to help them start their own businesses immediately after training. The idea is to really equip them to become self-employed citizens who will employ others later when their businesses grow.”

The training will be offered by professionals from the chosen fields. In each of the professions identified, MTC will partner with reputable and previously disadvantaged SME Namibian companies to train the individual candidates. The training duration is between 5 and 10 days.

The application period is already open until March 18, 2024. The application form is available for download on MTC’s website. To be eligible to benefit from the MTC 4LIFE project, a potential candidate must be Namibian, unemployed, between 18 and 35 years old, and have at least a minimum of grade 10. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.