The Olafika SME Development & Mentorship Programme initiative was developed and by Namibian entrepreneur and businesswoman Twapewa Kadhikwa in partnership with Namibian Diamond Trading Company (NDTC), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Ministry of Industrialization, Trade & SME Development, the Ministry of Urban & Rural Development and the African Leadership Institute (ALI).
COVID-19 is not only a global pandemic and public health crisis, it has also severely affected the global economy and financial markets and has revealed the fragile nature of our local economy. It has resulted in significant reductions in income, a rise in unemployment, and disruptions in the transportation, service, and manufacturing industries are among the consequences of the disease mitigation measures that have been implemented in many countries and Namibia is no exception.
On the 19th of October 2021, the Olafika team will be hosting a press engagement at the African Leadership Institute (ALI) at Rock Lodge under the theme Entrepreneurship: The spark to reviving the Economy?
Entrepreneurs are a rare species. Even in innovation-driven economies, only 1–2% of the work force starts a business in any given year. Yet entrepreneurs, particularly innovative entrepreneurs, are vital to the competitiveness of the economy. The gains of entrepreneurship are only realized, however, if the business environment is receptive to innovation. The Namibian economy can only be revived by having a strong focus on the domestic economy and market. We can make it! Let us spark the economy…
We can be very proud to say that what we are doing here is a game changer for Namibia. If entrepreneurs are consistently encouraged, in bad economic times as well as good, then all businesses are kept on their toes, motivated to work continuously to improve and adapt. Entrepreneurs are the fresh blood that keeps economies healthy and flourishing even as some individual firms fail. www.olafika.com.na 
Olafika
SME Development
