Hubs to coach youth entrepreneurs

The United States (US) has just launched enterpreneurship hubs in the country to address the high unemployment rate among young people and boost Namibia’s economic development.

The US government-funded Reach Namibia project has launched the Adolescent and Youth Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Accelerator (Alive) Hub at Rundu in the Kavango East region.

The initiative will equip project participants with entrepreneurial skills to establish sustainable businesses.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Services, regional and local governments, as well as private sector partners, the project will also establish an Alive Hub at Nkurenkuru in the Kavango West region to provide young people with entrepreneurial starter packs and to scale youth ventures.

“The hub space will serve as training ground where young people can develop innovative ideas, design products or solutions, and refine them through testing and feedback,” United States Agency for Intenational Development (USAID) acting country representative Rockfeler Herisse says.

Alive Hubs will offer computers, printers and other hardware, as well as consulting and outreach services to rural areas.

The hubs will foster connections between young people and other stakeholders, such as government agencies, civil society partners, private sector investors and employers through pitch exhibitions, coaching, mentoring, training, and skills-building sessions.

They will also facilitate access to existing programmes such as the youth ministry’s Youth Credit Schemes.

The Alive Hubs at Rundu and Nkurenkuru are expected to serve 240 Reach Namibia beneficiaries per quarter and will extend services to the general youth.

Reach Namibia provides support to young people in the country’s eight most populated regions.

The project is supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through USAID, and implemented by Project Hope Namibia and Intrahealth Namibia.