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Thirty-two vocational graduates are set to receive entrepreneurship coaching and business development support as the Capricorn Foundation expands its Be Your Own Boss programme to Swakopmund, Otjiwarongo and Outapi.
The programme, run in partnership with Unmatched Potential, is designed to help vocational graduates move beyond technical training and turn their skills into sustainable businesses and livelihoods.
Five graduates who participated in the programme’s pilot phase will also continue receiving support.
The expansion comes after the pilot programme, launched in Swakopmund in May 2026, showed what the organisers described as significant potential among vocational graduates to pursue entrepreneurship when provided with the right guidance and support.
Veripura Muukua, head of the Capricorn Foundation, said the vocational sector could play a critical role in Namibia’s economic growth and efforts to address unemployment.
“As Connectors of Positive Change, we believe the vocational sector is essential for Namibia’s economic growth, addressing unemployment and advancing entrepreneurship,” Muukua said.
She said the Foundation’s Economic Advancement Focus Area was aimed at creating and promoting opportunities that could contribute to reducing unemployment.
Muukua said the pilot had demonstrated that many vocational graduates already possess valuable technical skills but need additional business knowledge and support to turn those skills into sustainable enterprises.
“The success of the pilot programme, which was launched in Swakopmund in May 2026, demonstrated to us the potential that exists within Namibia’s vocational graduates,” she said.
“It provided us with an opportunity to see that young people possess valuable technical skills but require support to transform those skills into sustainable businesses and livelihoods.”
The second phase will select 10 candidates from Swakopmund, 10 from Otjiwarongo and 12 from Outapi.
The five continuing participants will be selected from the 18 graduates who took part in the pilot phase.
The three-month mentorship programme is expected to begin in September and will be delivered in person in the three participating towns.
Etienne Raymond, founder of Unmatched Potential, said the pilot had shown that participants could change their approach to employment after receiving entrepreneurial support.
“The pilot phase showed remarkable commitment, growth and resilience from the programme’s participants,” Raymond said.
“We have seen participants shift their thinking from seeking employment to creating opportunities for themselves and others.”
Raymond said the expansion would provide an opportunity to develop entrepreneurs who could use their vocational expertise to identify market needs and create economic opportunities in their communities.
“Phase 2 is an exciting step towards building a new generation of entrepreneurs who can use their vocational expertise to address market needs and unlock economic opportunities within their communities,” he said.
The programme is open to TVET Level 3 and Level 4 graduates from accredited institutions who are based in Swakopmund, Otjiwarongo or Outapi.
Applicants can be unemployed, already self-employed or looking to start or expand their own businesses.
Applications close on 7 September 2026, with successful candidates expected to participate in the three-month programme beginning later this month.
