Innovation key to empowerment

Self-empowerment through creativity and innovation has been one of the major outcries of late and most recently, the Minister of Education, Hon. Abrahm Iyambo stressed the importance of innovation  for economic development at the International University of Management’s 10th anniversary celebrations. This week, the Economist caught up with a young and ever-growing business minded, Tutu Haukena, owner of Kaizzy Investment CC.
A full-time government employee and a part-time businessman, Haukena said that he is living his dream as he is doing what he always envisioned while growing up.
“Education is really important as it inspired and motivated me to pursue my dream in events planning and management. One of the main reasons that actually pushed me was the emphasis on innovation and creativity as it does not need one with a Masters Degree for instance. I obtained basic tips and skills through the Entrepreneurship class activities in my final year of Journalism and Communication Technology at the Polytechnic of Namibia. That is where I started off.”
Established in 2010, Haukena said that his company has shown remarkable growth over the past 2 years . “I started very small and could only cater for 80 people maximum but today, I can proudly say that I cater for up to 300 people at any event.”
He said that although he did not study anything besides entrepreneurship for the sector in which he is   operating, innovation and prior exposure to décor and catering has helped him penetrate a very competitive local market.
Kaizzy Investments CC handles events of all types but according to Haukena, weddings are the most popular celebrations and they require a proper setting and experienced professionals as it is a once in a lifetime event. “The most common contracts Kaizzy receives are weddings and they often take place in May, August, September and December. Despite the regularity, they still are unpredictable in the sense that there is no guarantee as the end decision is made by the client. Cancellations can happen at any time.”
He said that because weddings are a once-off event, he makes sure that he provides excellent services. This way new clients are referred to his company all the time from satisfied previous clients. Word of mouth support and a positive image are very important elements of his success.
Haukena said that his clients further refer him to other potential clients due to the fact that a lot of services are offered all under one roof. “Because of the fact that we offer a lot of services from catering, decorations to video production and invitation card designs, total end-cost for the clients is cheaper than hiring different companies specialising only in one field.”
The company employs only casual workers and one permanent employee who does most of the administration work. “We only provide casual employment as wedding tenders are not an everyday event. Most of the time, we prefer the usual casuals as we have provided them with prior training and therefore they know already what to do when a tender comes in.”
Kaizzy Investment is run from home and offers services throughout the country upon request. As an SME, Haukena said that he hopes to grow big in size, provide permanent employment and help alleviate unemployment and in that way, empower the youth looking up to him as a young and successful businessman.
Kaizy Investment takes care of the venue, decorations, catering, video production, photo shoot, invitation cards as well as renting out tents, tables, chairs and cutlery. They also have a page on Facebook called Tutu’s catering, decoration and video production.