Innovators to materialise their ideas

Young innovators will once again have the opportunity to materialise their business ideas through the Namibian Business Innovation Centre’s (NBIC) boot camp.
The boot camp will take place from 11 February to 2 April at the NBIC village. The boot camp is held twice a year and involves intense training and mentorship.
Bernhard Rohkemper, manager of the entrepreneurship and incubator division at the NBIC, said that although the boot camp is open to every one, applicants undergo a strict selection process and only 10 to 12 business ideas are attended to per boot camp.
The NBIC aims to provide the necessary support needed by aspiring entrepreneurs. One of the ways in which the centre assists entrepreneurs is by providing them with affordable office space, therefore their incubators are open to the most promising business ideas such as that of Elia Haufiku, owner of Ethics Production. Ethics Production is a media company which concentrates on video production as well as graphic designing.
Haufiku said that when he first attended the bootcamp, he did not know how to market his services or communicate effectively with his customers.
Haufiku further explains that he also did not know how to convince potential clients to buy his product, however the NBIC’s boot camp taught him how to deal with people.
The closing date for applications is 30 January. All successful candidates will be expected to pay an attendance fee of N$500. However, half of it is refunded after the boot camp.
According to Rohkemper, the fee was introduced to “encourage participants to take the boot camp seriously so that their investments does not go to waste nor do they waste time.”