Young entrepreneurs exhibit at Ondangwa Youth Expo
• BY MARX ITAMALO
More than 120 young business people from Ondangwa and other parts of the country attended the just-ended Ondangwa Youth Expo which commenced on June 24 and ran until the third of July.
Founder and Chairperson of the organising committee, Jackson ‘Da Silva’ Mwetufena, informed Confidente that the youth expo was established with the aim of giving young people an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the public.
“The expo was primarily established to give the youth the opportunity to do business.
We realized that many youths do not get this opportunity and thus we came up with the idea of the expo,” he said.
He further said, more than 120 youth exhibitors attended the event and were accommodated in about 80 stalls, where they traded in food, firewood, alcohol, clothing, plants and services such as haircuts, nail work, hair plaiting amongst others.
Mwetufena indicated this year’s edition showed a massive increase on the number of exhibitors in comparison to the past years since its first launch in 2018.
“Last year we had 80 exhibitors, this year we have about 120, this shows a significant increase on the number of exhibitors and we also noted an increase on the number of visitors as well,” he further narrated.
He pointed out that hosting the expo in Ondangwa does not exclude the youth from other towns!
Robert Haufiku, a youth entrepreneur from Ondangwa, told Confidente he benefited immensely from the expo and met many business contacts.
Haufiku, who traded in shoes made from kudu skin revealed that he sold more than 200 pairs.
“It was a good opportunity to make a profit, the timing of the expo was also well thought out because many people got paid between the 25 and 30 of June, and we really did receive a large number of customers”.
Rauha Shiweda from Eenhana in the Ohangwena region also expressed satisfaction with the expo where she sold clothes imported from the United Kingdom.
“We really sold a lot of clothes during the expo. We also met customers who expressed willingness to make business with us in the future.
We will definitely keep attending future expo’s. It is a good opportunity for the youth to do business and also make contacts,” Shiweda said.
Ondangwa Mayor, Paavo Amwele, applauded the organizers of the expo for providing an opportunity for youth entrepreneurs, he said it is a good initiative as it creates employment opportunities.
“We have always maintained that Ondangwa Town Council is ready to work together with the youth and support them, especially when it comes to initiatives that create employment opportunities; they (youth) should not only be sitting at home doing nothing. They must try something for themselves. That is the reason we availed our venue to the organisers at a minimal fee,” he exclaimed.