Nominations open for Namibian Businesswoman of the Year 2019 awards
Celebrating 25 years since its inception and launching the 19th Namibian Businesswoman of the Year awards, Desèré Lundon-Muller, Marketing Manager and partner at the Economist urged the public to nominate their Businesswoman of the Year. The awards banquet will be held on 16 October.
She explained that the awards have honoured women whose achievements, commitment and vision have made them leaders in their chosen field of endeavour. “These awards take pride in recognising women whose self-sacrifice, unwavering dedication and generosity of spirit have led others to achieve greatness in their own right,” she said.
She encouraged people to nominate anyone they think fits this description, women who win, who come from all walks of life and professions, who have a few years’ experience and those who have many years of experience. “With the Awards we aim to raise awareness for equal opportunity, to provide a platform for decision-makers to recognise and promote the status of women and to promote the creation of small and medium business in the country,” she empshasised.
Esmeralda Katjaerua, the Young Businesswoman of the Year 2017 echoed these sentiments, saying that the Awards acknowledge women entrepreneurs and leaders who are genuinely making a difference and excelling in their respective businesses. “On a personal level after I won this award, I only became alive to the fact that I am now a business owner, a boss, a mentor and a role model to many young women, therefore it has made me believe in my abilities as a businessperson and it has encouraged me to improve my business and leadership skills,” she said.
Ester /Nanus, Branch Support and Management Officer at the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who are endorsing the Awards, said this partnership allows them to capture nominees at grassroots level through the extension of the awards at regional and local level where the Chamber also has branches “Women that come from all walks of life, with varied academic backgrounds, skills sets, stories and expertise, are the ideal candidates for the various categories represented in the Awards” she said.
Albert Pretorius, Dealer Principal, Jaguar Windhoek who are one of the sponsors, said their brand is here to assist the leading ladies and give them value. “We are pushing our brand to be a ladies vehicle, a brand women can be proud of which has been very successful,” he explained.
Jacquiline Pack, Executive Officer: Marketing and Corporate Communication Services at Bank Windhoek said “many women have a side hustle in addition to established careers or they own their own businesses and in doing research for Bank Windhoek’s Women in Business offering, we realised from a financial services perspective, that very little exists for the women who juggles so many roles in society, so we cater to them to make their lives easier.”
We would also like to announce that we are sponsoring an amount of N$120,000 for this worthy initiative,” she informed.
Nombvula Kambinda-Kondombolo, Head: Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Telecom said they have chosen to partner with the Namibia Economist since 2005 to ensure the successful hosting of the Businesswoman Awards “and the calibre of contenders they have seen over the years have not only been impressive but they continue to inspire more women to do better in their chosen fields.”
“The Awards provides visibility for its winners beyond their reign and continues to be a sought-after title, therefore I wish all aspiring participants the courage to enter. You can only win if you participate, when nominated, please give your consent,” she motivated.
Other sponsors for the Namibia Businesswoman Awards are Roots Importers and Regus Namibia.
Caption: from left to right, Yohaan Venter from Roots Importers, Natasja Beyleveld, Young Namibian Businesswoman of the Year 2013, Esmeralda Katjaerua, Current Young Namibian Businesswoman of the Year, Nomvula Kambinda-Kondombolo, Head: Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Telecom, Albert Pretorius, Dealer Principal at Jaguar Windhoek, Ester /Nanus, Support Officer Branch Management at the NCCI, Jacquiline Pack, Executive Officer: Marketing and Corporate Communication Services at Bank Windhoek and Desèré Lundon-Muller, Marketing Manager and partner at the Economist Newspaper, all encouraged the public to nominate those candidates whom they think qualify to be the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year 2019.
