Namibia is seeing a positive trend with more women entering the government tender process.
According to Bank Windhoek’s Manager of Emerging SME, Jenevieve Swartz, there has been an increase in women taking up tenders to provide the government with services or products such as cleaning materials.
“Nowadays, we also get ladies that get government tenders. So they get a tender for cleaning material or cleaning supply and delivery,†she said.
She further explained that the beauty industry and food services for retail are among the majority of sector services dominated by women, with the age range varying.
“You get young people in the youth category and then you get the two older women. So it’s relatively straight. So it’s not just an influx of youth or an influx of older women,†she said.
She said this at the She Rebuilds the World project’s graduation ceremony, where 50 Namibian women entrepreneurs graduated from the program.
The project offers ongoing help to participants through workshops and training programs. This includes equipping them with business skills through bootcamps, teaching them how to leverage technology in their businesses through digitalization workshops, and providing training on using online government services and advocating for their rights.
It was launched in Namibia through a partnership between the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), Business Financial Solutions (BFS), and Economic Cooperation and Investments for Latvia (ESI-LV).
In 2022/2023, the first group of 39 participants completed the program.
