Eba Kandovazu
Local businessperson, Vaino Nghipondoka, is urging Namibian businesses to start looking outside the country for new opportunities as the world is opening up following the “deadly” Covid-19 pandemic.
Nghipondoka says the current economic situation in Namibia has left a lot of business people in Namibia under serious financial strain, but Namibians must not despair and grab new emerging opportunities. He just returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he also attended the Dubai expo, noting that although a lot of Namibians build their businesses around government procurement, it is time to move forward and venture into opportunities in mining, agriculture and technology.
“Government procurement is good for a start but businesses should learn to expand more into manufacturing or service provision,” he visualises.
He notes that he has been between travelling frequently between Namibia and Dubai for the last six months for new business opportunities and has been successful with some. “I had some good business opportunities in the process in Dubai and Namibia and have lost out on some opportunities,” he reflects.
Nghipondoka laughs off suggestions that he is planning to relocate permanently to the UAE and says his heart remains in Namibia. “I understand people are saying I sold my properties and businesses but be rest assured that I am not going anywhere but I will be frequenting in and out of the country to seek for more opportunities,” Nghipondoka stresses.
He urges Namibians to be vaccinated as it is the only tangible solution.
‘In many parts of the world, vaccination passports have become mandatory, thus it is important for business persons traveling to be vaccinated. Namibians locally also need to get vaccinated in order for the country to reach the herd immunity for the tourism industry and other businesses to kick start to create employment and much needed income,” says he.
Whether he still holds an account with First National Bank following the bank’s decision to close some accounts, Nghipondoka says he is still an FNB client and is not aware of any of his accounts being closed by the bank. “I still have my FNB account. What have I done for my accounts to be closed by FNB?.”
An irritated Nghipondoka says some Namibians must stop focusing on trivial matters such as rumours of him relocating and the FNB account closing and focus on issues and activities that can improve the livelihood of Namibians. “The media in general has a duty to start and promote conversations, which are productive and can change the livelihood of people rather than to spend time on useless gossips and trivial talks,” He said.
Nghipodoka is a leading businessperson with sinterests in telecommunications, food production and construction.
