Innovation Festival slated for April

The Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII) will be hosting the Innovation Festival under the theme, ‘Innovation in Manufacturing’.

The first-ever festival will be hosted from 15 to 16 April at the Habitat Research and Development Centre, in Katutura.
NBII Innovation Marketplace Manager, Angelica Bergmann said that the Institute has gone out of its way to bring the best that the world of design and innovation, business development, technology and creativity has to offer and it is their firm belief that participants will be equipped with valuable insights and a new sense of destiny once the Festival is over.
“The primary objective of the festival is to approach the manufacturing sector in a local context and to explore how the country can sustainably position itself as a global contender,” explained Bergmann.
“It’s all about engagement and multi-stakeholder dialogue will serve as a platform for multidisciplinary collaboration and idea sharing amongst the Namibian innovator, private sector, government, as well as local and international speakers,” said Bergmann.
The festival will feature expert speakers across several fields of innovation: business, government, entrepreneurship, academia, social impact, design, the arts and many more.
However, unlike a typical conference, the format will be hands-on, informal, and interactive replacing lengthy, tedious presentations with unscripted, casual and highly interactive discussions.
“We are all about change and about making a difference, about having the courage to stand out and take a leap of faith into the unknown. The programme promises to inspire and motivate all participants to consider the theme of innovation in manufacturing from a very different perspective. Our aim is to highlight innovation as a pillar for national development, with particular emphasis on the National Development Plan,” Bergmann said.
The festival hopes primarily to drive Namibia to become more competitive as a nation and thereby highlight Namibia’s competitive strengths and innovations.