Locally created ‘Namhook’ – not just your ordinary social networking platform
In efforts to enter the global competitive social media platforms, Gerson Magundu, a civil engineering graduate and entrepreneur launched a local product, Namhook a “namhook.net” a social networking platform which went live on 12 October.
In an interview with the Economist recently Magundu said that his product is not just any social network but a platform were locals can connect together and at the same time solve real life problems.
“This very unique social network does not only concentrate on the social part but also on economic empowerment,” said Magundu.
According to him the Namhook platform is feature rich and includes all the features from the giant networks, but also features its own unique areas, which include pages, groups, newsfeeds and chats.
Currently the platform has 700 users and the brains behind this initiative said that Namibians can enjoy features like selling as well as buying music straight from Namhook. According to him fans can buy their albums via Namhook using their debit/credit cards.
“The payment method is very safe and secure since we are using the internet’s number 1 payment gateway ‘PayPal’ and there this feature will help the music industry grow rapidly in terms of album sales,” he said.
Furthermore other features that can be enjoyed by the users on Namhook include job postings/vacancies which can be posted and employers can also create their companies/organisations profiles and applications can be submitted via Namhook.
“There is also a marketplace slot that caters for sellers, who can list their products, ranging from different corresponding category like cars, houses etc.,” he added.
Magundu said online shoppers can also have the privilege through Namhook to access registered on line shops on the platform, which make life easier for buyers too since they can order goods from any corner of the country and get the order in time which in turn helps grow small business in the country.
For now Magundu is concentrating on growing the network, and said the hardest part of running the network is the marketing part of it due to lack of funds but hopefully he will get a sponsor soon.
