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IT entrepreneur perseveres

Front door service. Entrepreneur Vilho Gideon at his office premises

Front door service. Entrepreneur Vilho Gideon at his office premises

Founder of Vtech Internet Solutions Vilho Gideon a Computer Science and Mathematics graduate from the University of Namibia says that his entrepreneurial journey has been a taxing one that has yielded success in the information technology industry.
Gideon said,“We mostly offer web design, software development, mobile application development and supply computers and printers.” His clients portfolio cites municipal authorities, the Ministry of Fisheries and the  Office of the Prime Minister.
“I get clients from Botswana, Angola and Zimbabwe mostly for web hosting and design. We also offer to train organisations employees in Microsoft Excel and software training. Citing Bisha Mining having been one of his clients,” he added.
Vtech Technology located in Windhoek started in 2012. Gideon met clients at coffee shops which he soon found out not to be wise because clients did not perceive him as credible without an office space.

He shared an office space with a friend in the city centre until he could afford one. “I did not rest until I got my first client, he said.
He now has a staff compliment of seven and his own office space. Asked what his reasons for getting into business his prompt response was the level of unemployed, often educated youth like himself.
“I started with zero capital, You really don’t need funding to understand the market,” he said.
His next ambitious project is launching a mobile applications soon for events and entertainment which will be available on the Google Play Store mobile application platform.
He said that he marketed himself to potential clients by attending an SME Expo in the same year he founded his business. “That is were we got few clients for web design.”
Through his journey Gideon recalls meeting his former employer, Silnam IT Solutions where he worked as an intern at a tender meeting and his company was also pitching for the same project. That to him he said was confirmation that he understood the local market and clients needs.
He plans to open a branch in Ongwediva, mostly for hardware and I.T support, hopefully expanding business to Angola and South Africa.
His qualm is that government ministries give work to foreign IT companies which in turn hire local people due to government thinking that local Namibian companies are not competent.
What fascinates him is that the IT industry is an industry that is constantly adopting new technologies. “So you must be innovative in your approach to projects,” he gleamed.
His advice to entrepreneurs is that they should not give up on their ambitions.
“Giving up is not an option, imagine that your next breakthrough is just around the corner. Successful people are ordinary people who make use of ordinary circumstances by not dreaming of it but working for it.”

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