Strengthening of Namibia’s Microfinance Sector (2019-2020)
Under a collaboration agreement with the microfinance organization known as Kongalend Financial Services, DSIK cross the threshold into Namibia between 2019 and 2020.
DSIK continued to undertake the Savings Games for market women by mid-2019 and 2020 in Namibia .To address the lack of financial literacy in Namibian communities, such as budgeting, financial discipline, and saving, DSIK highlighted the need to undertake finance instruction using savings games. Through its collaboration with the Hitambo Virtual Academy and the Windhoek Vocational Training Centre (WVTC). Twelve trainers were taught by the Trainers of Trainers, which began in January 2020. HITAMBO had successfully completed 43 trainings with a total of 843 participants, including 28 Micro Business Games and 15 saving games. With this rate of training delivery, each course had an average of 19 participants. It goes without saying that those 17 facilitators rotated through the trainings. Five areas were targeted for training: Kunene, Hardap, Omaheke, Khomas, and Otjozondjupa.
Promotion of Small-Scale Entrepreneurship in Southern Africa (2021-2023)
German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation and The Ministry of Industrialization and Trade Namibia (MIT) signed an MoU in June 2022 to establish a relationship. Through this collaboration, the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK)-Namibia has begun providing business skills training to medium-sized firms across the country. DSIK together with the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade managed to hold 66 trainings with 1344 participants between May 2023 and December 2023, of which 469 were men and 877 were women. The cooperation aimed to support emerging business leaders and assist other SMEs in expanding their economies. The goal is to boost the economy and reduce Namibia's high unemployment rate through fostering employment and self-employment. In order to target local businesspeople who are struggling to expand their companies with the skills they have, it is intended to support and inspire students to become business-minded thinkers and job creators rather than job seekers. The Ministry of Industrialization and Trade received assistance from DSIK in the creation of a Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.
Local organizations like Hitambo Virtual Academy, Windhoek Vocational Training Centre, Financial Literacy Initiative, National Commission on Research Science & Technology, Khomas Regional Council, Ministry of Gender and Poverty Eradication, Namibia University of Science and Technology, City of Windhoek, and Namibia Training Authority have benefited greatly from the partnership by participating in a combined period of MBG ToT with a total of 27 trainers.
Strengthening small-scale entrepreneurship for a social and environmental transformation and economic development in Southern Africa (2023-2026)
The new project has an ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade as its primary partner. It has added on new Memorandums of Understanding with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) to provide fundamental education to various students and training participants registered with DBN.
Ongoing implementing partner comprise of Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) and Windhoek Vocational Training Centre (WVTC). Both primary and implementing partners shall contribute to providing fundamental education to support emerging MSME’s, hence reducing the high level of employment in Namibia through fostering entrepreneurial innovations.
