Small traders at Ondangwa have expressed positive sentiments about participating in this year’s Ondangwa Trade and Industrial Exhibition.
Over 280 exhibitors are showcasing their products in the exhibition running from 27 June to 5 July.
The traders say they have networked with potential buyers, and gained exposure to both domestic and international markets.
“The customers are here and people are really supportive. We cannot complain much,” Shiwa David, a tailor from Oshakati, says.
Another trader, Hilma Shetunyenge who sells Oshiwambo traditional items, echoes David’s sentiments, saying the trade exhibition provides a platform to market and gain insights into the business world.
“We are not just here to make sales but to market our products as well.
We want to grow big one day hence our participation in this year’s trade exhibition.
We are making connections with different people on a daily basis and it is truly making an impact because you never know who might help you make a big breakthrough one day,” she says.
Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa says across the globe, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are recognised as the backbone of thriving economies, contributing to innovation, job creation, inclusive growth and economic resilience.
The Namibian MSME sector, however, faces many challenges hampering its growth and development.
Sankwasa also says they lack trading spaces, capacity, and skills to innovate, market and promote their products.
He says such events allow small businesses that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to re-establish themselves.
“This exhibition fosters sustainability at Ondangwa and the broader Oshana region, providing a vital meeting space for public, corporate entities, and the business community to interact directly with consumers,” Sankwasa says in a speech read on his behalf by Oshana regional chairperson Andreas Uutoni.
The 12th edition of the Ondangwa Trade and Industrial Exhibition is being hosted under the theme ‘Building resilient industries through innovation and smart partnership’.
The theme highlights the importance of building industries that can withstand external shocks while fostering long-term economic stability.
Sankwasa says a thriving economy is shaped not only by infrastructure and administrative reforms, but also on the innovativeness of the business community.
“Therefore, strong collaboration between the government and private sector is essential in equipping entrepreneurs with the skills and resources needed to develop new products, enhance value chains and add value to raw materials,” he says.
He encourages Namibian businesses to expand their presence in manufacturing and value addition, leveraging supportive government policies towards businesses.
These policies include infant industries protection, growth at home strategy, industrialisation development policy and public-private partnerships, as well as trade promotion policies which seek to support the country’s efforts to optimise job creation and reduce vulnerability from external forces and shocks from international commodity markets.
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