Trade minister disappointed by lack of SME interest in aid schemes

Trade minister disappointed by lack of SME interest in aid schemes

Speaking at the Namibia-Brazil Trade mission in Windhoek yesterday, Iipumbu said the ministry has only received 600 applications to date. The majority of the applications are from Khomas region for the equipment aid scheme.

“I am disappointed as a minister to find that in this whole country, as big as it is, only 600 applicants and 40% of those applications come from Windhoek,” said Iipumbu.

She added that interest from regions has been minimal, with not even 15 applications. This forces the ministry to bend the qualification rules, she noted.

“Sometimes, we have to bend the rules to qualify some. Sometimes, we have to ask them to submit whatever is outstanding so that at least we can have about five, six or seven beneficiaries from one region, at the expense of the many people that meet the requirements in commerce,” said Iipumbu.

The ministry is planning to launch a new application period by Friday, she added.

“But we want those programmes to benefit, especially the regions and that’s why, if all goes according to plan, on Friday we are going to launch new windows of applications.”

Iipumbu noted that the launch will be done in regions that didn’t do well, in order to stimulate interest.

She expressed the need for more collaboration between Namibian and Brazilian businesses, particularly in the agriculture sector.

According to Iipumbu, Namibia’s main exports to Brazil are refined petroleum and precious stones, however, there are other sectors in which the two countries can collaborate.

She said due to poor rainfall this year, agricultural activities such as crop production and animal husbandry are not doing well. “What are the new mechanisms that we can learn from Brazil, such as the techniques to use our underground water and seawater?” she said.

Speaking during the event, Brazilian ambassador to Namibia Vivian Sanmartin said her country is ready to offer a range of products and services.

“Brazil is well positioned to offer Namibia a wide range of products and services, from machinery to consumer goods, hospital equipment, information technology solutions and agriculture inputs at competitive prices,” said Sanmartin.

She noted that 16 Brazilian companies from different sectors attended the mission, demonstrating the untapped potential.