Support services for businesswomen

Ten women who are the owners of their own small enterprises, attended a 5-day training workshop late in October in Windhoek to learn new strategies they can apply to grow their businesses. The workshop was presented by the Namibia Trade Forum and moderated by Access Namibia.
The programme addresses the imbalance in availability of trade support services for businesswomen and the need for accessing knowledge on export processes and deficiencies in support of private sector development. The Namibia Trade Forum as a national focal point institution is responsible for implementing the programme by ensuring quality delivery and sustainability afterwards.
The ACCESS! Namibia programme was initiated by signature in 2014 between the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development and the International Trade Centre. The Access programme improves business support services for women to increase their capacity to export and succeed in international, regional and domestic markets, with the ultimate goal of improving the standard of living for themselves and for their dependants.
“The Access programme is designed to strengthen the capacity of women exporters in Africa, to set targets to help them realize their economic potential and thereby contribute to poverty reduction and improved standards of living. Moreover they directly acquire new knowledge and more skills that they then implement in their businesses” according to ACCESS! Namibia.
Business owner of Kavango Mahangu and Maize in Rundu, Mrs Kamalanga said, “It went very well. I learnt so much from it in terms of marketing. One can use many marketing ways to market your business. I thank the Namibia Trade Forum for this opportunity”. Jacky Onemus of Pnamene Multi-Services CC who specialises in Event Management based in Windhoek commented “it was the best, an eye opener for me. There was a lot of things I did not know .My challenges are put aside for now and I am excited. I can’t wait for the follow-up.”