Olafika SME Development & Mentorship Programme Designed To Assist, Train and Empower SME’s and Entrepreneurs

NAMPA PR |  July 24, 2018

“Olafika, means “The Time Is Now”. The time has arrived for you to make that move in starting your entrepreneurial journey or growing your enterprise.
SMEs are the backbone of many economies in the world and this can be the same in Namibia if we build their capacities. The Government attaches great importance to facilitating the development of SMEs in equipping them to enhance their competitiveness.
Mentorship is key in the development of any individual, especially when starting or growing a business. Mentorship provides the mentee an opportunity to learn from an experienced person who walks the journey with them towards success.

The Olafika SME Development & Mentorship Programme is designed by A successful entrepreneur and businessperson, Ms. Twapewa Kadhikwa in partnership with NDTC to assist and guide those who are at the early stages of business to learn from and be guided by accomplished entrepreneurs.
Government will not absorb our unemployment levels. We must diversify our economy and empower our entrepreneurs in the various regions to create sustainable jobs, we must accelerate the Entrepreneurship Agenda, says Twapewa Kadhikwa the Founder of Olafika SME Development Mentorship Programme
SMEs confront many challenges and difficulties during the start-up stage. Under the SME Development Mentorship Programme, accomplished entrepreneurs, professionals and academics render expert advice to SME owners, helping them lay a good foundation to develop their business, widen their exposure and expand business connections, thereby raising their competitiveness.

The Olafika SME Development & Mentorship Programme have an annual intake of 5 SMEs per region, culminating into 70 SMEs per year. NDTC believes that this is real economic empowerment and development.

Topics to be covered:

1. Understanding Entrepreneurship
2. Planning Your Business
3. Managing Your Finances
4. Managing Your People
5. Marketing and Sales
6. Running Your Business

The Mentorship will take place over a 3 month period of intensive training and engagement. Once completed, NDTC will host a graduation ceremony.
Post graduation, the NDTC will host the Olafika National SME expo leading to the Olafika National SME Awards where the SME of the year will be showcased to the Nation and the world. In order to ensure continuity and a culture of each one teach one, we will form the Olafika Alumni.

The target audiences for the Olafika SME Development & Mentorship Programme are:

– Existing Entrepreneurs willing to grow their businesses – Family owned business owners – Export focused SMEe – SMEs adding value to local raw materials – Namibian Emerging Entrepreneurs Olafika SME Development Mentorship Programme is a brainchild of Twapewa Kadhikwa supported by Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC)

About “Successful Entrepreneurship” Authored by: Twapewa Kadhikwa

After World War II, economies around the world accommodated job seekers: CV writers who wanted a job description to tell them what to do until the day they retire.

That era ended long ago. Today, we live in the millennial age and modern economies are no longer able to absorb large numbers of people into formal employment. Therefore, we need to build a culture of job creators: business minded individuals who generate opportunities for themselves and others. We need entrepreneurs.

The book, ‘Successful Entrepreneurship’ is your starting point. By offering personal insights into the journey of entrepreneurship, it will push you to look beyond the business idea and to find your purpose. It will teach you non-academic soft skills critical to the success of enterprise, yet all too often overlooked by academia. These skills form the sturdy foundation upon which to build your entrepreneurial future. It is my deepest hope that this book and the SME Development Mentorship Programme will help you to be at the forefront of a generation of entrepreneurs.

The Olafika SME Development Mentorship Programme and the book ‘Successful Entrepreneurship’ book will be launched on the 9th August 2018.