Africa needs young entrepreneurs, politicians to emancipate – Namibian Minister

Ms Emma M. Theofulus, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of Namibia, says the African continent needs young entrepreneurs and politicians to emancipate.

She said there was a connection between politics and entrepreneurship because entrepreneurs could not thrive if there were bottlenecks in the systems in which they operated.

Ms Theofulus who was speaking at the 2nd Volta Young Entrepreneurs Summit in Ho, said challenges such as rigid policies and ageism were barriers that needed to be addressed to enable people to develop tough skins to surpass.

“This is why in many African countries, entrepreneurs find it difficult to break into markets within, in neighbouring countries or beyond,” she said.

Ms Theofulus said the difficulty was because of the laws and policies that existed, hence the need for politicians to understand how to break the bottlenecks to help entrepreneurs thrive.

She urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the enormous potential for Africa to leapfrog into the digital trade for their benefit.

Ms Theofulus indicated that there was the need for them further to study the environment they were operating in or wished to operate, since there was nothing that beat knowledge through understanding the economical makeup of their country which placed them a step ahead.

She encouraged entrepreneurs to network and find ways of connecting with others, while advising young businesspeople to form conglomerates, to enable them to transition one product or one phase to another.

She tasked them to build businesses that could leave legacies in accomplishing the economic emancipation of Africa.

The Summit as part of the Sixth Volta Trade and Investment Fair, was themed: “Bridging Borders: Amplifying Youth Entrepreneurship in an AfCFTA era.”

The Paramount Chief of Kpando Traditional Area, Okpekpewuokpe Akpinifia Dagadu IX, said there were a lot of businesses who although were doing amazing things, but finances including high interest rates as well as technical support remained their huge challenge.

The challenges, he said were biting hard on businesses in the region, and that Corporate Volta seemed to be “asleep.”

Okpekpewuokpe Akpinifia Dagadu said the nature of roads and security barriers into and in the region were also problematic.

He urged the government to invest more in the Volta region to enable it realise its strength, and encouraged businesses in the area to position themselves to benefit from any interventions that might come.

Okpekpewuokpe Akpinifia Dagadu said it was okay for the youth to be wealthy and establish significant ventures in the region, saying “No one will finish you off for your wealth,” as such superstitious believed had over the years prevented them from investing within their communities.

Mama Bobi III, the Queen of Ho-Bake, urged the youth to focus on building resilient businesses that would be able to take advantage of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

She urged them to be ready to invest their time, while they prepared to be tactical in their thought of becoming entrepreneurs without borders.

Source: GNA

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