Our fourth stop on our national MatchME2Funding journey was Katima Mulilo, situated 1226km north-east of Windhoek in the Zambezi region. Katima Mulilo was matched to funding on the 18-20 October 2021 where the 21 successful shortlisted participants attended a 2-day micro-entrepreneurial training course, followed by a pitch day event. Katima Mulilo is a friendly town, where people are punctual, hardworking and rich in culture. The participants never missed an opportunity to speak their native languages during their tea and lunch breaks. This showed an undeniable love for tradition and self-expression among the Katima Mulilo participants.
Our esteemed judges for the event included Jackson Kunatela (Founder of Chibata Investments), Mushohe Kumanina (Executive Member of Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Beata Ambata (Statistician of the Regional Council). We were honoured with the presence of the Governor of Zambezi Region, Hon. Lawrence Alufea Sampofu, who made the welcoming remarks. The Governor expressed his gratitude to the MatchME2Funding program for choosing Katima Mulilo to be one of the ten towns. He emphasised that entrepreneurs are very important as they are the wheels of the economic growth of the country, especially productive entrepreneurs that can invigorate new technologies and increase productivity. He encouraged the participants to aim for the sky and make sure to register their businesses at the end of the MatchME2Funding program.
The 21 eager participants all presented dynamic and passionate pitches which captivated the judging panel. Ultimately, the judges’ votes were tallied, and we had our three winners! In 3rd place, winning N$3250.00, was Mr. Thaddius Masule with his business NMT Welding. Thaddius’s business has been operational for 2 years, however, has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. He strongly believes that anything is possible if you give your all. In 2nd place, winning N$4250.00, was Ms. Kahimbi Samunzala with his company Nav's Investment CC. Kahimbi’s business idea is to combine a campsite and playground as a form of community development within Katima Mulilo. The main aim of Nav’s Investment CC is to strengthen the bond between children and their parents in and around Katrina Mulilo. And finally, in 1st place, winning N$5000.00, was Mr. Elvis Lizazi with his business Mulyabond Investment CC which offers livestock feed. Elvis aims to assist the livestock sector by providing cheaper feed inputs through his venture and ultimately restore the Savannah range land to its former state by controlling the spread of encroached bush.
As Impact Tank, in partnership with Startup Namibia and Nedbank Namibia, matches further regions with business funding, we plant and spread the seed of entrepreneurial culture and initiate growth for Namibia through a grass roots approach.
Stay tuned for updates from Rundu MatcME2Funding!