The Cabinet has approved the start of the National Youth Fund (NYF), a N$257 million initiative aimed at supporting start-ups and growing youth-led businesses.
The decision follows an announcement by Finance Minister Ericah Shafudah in April, when she said the fund was a response to Namibia’s high youth unemployment rate, currently reported at 44.5%.
“Cabinet approved the Common Guidelines for the operationalisation of the National Youth Fund (NYF). These include, amongst others, an initial outlay of N$257 million with subsequent yearly official subventions,” Cabinet said .
According to the Cabinet, the fund is designed to support a project entrepreneurship model, which will allow selected youth-led ventures to scale up and become market-ready.
“A fund philosophy to support a project entrepreneurship approach to ensure that some entities are supported to eventually scale up and attain market maturity,” the document noted.
The fund will operate through several targeted channels, including lending and market linkage conduits, public lending facilities, grants, and policy-based lending with segmented pricing.
Start-up initiatives will be eligible for funding ranging from N$60,000 to N$200,000, with additional support structures in place for growth-stage enterprises.
The NYF is expected to play a key role in empowering young entrepreneurs by improving their access to capital and creating opportunities for them to link with wider markets.
The Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation (NamibRe) has become the first contributor to the fund, donating N$5 million last week.
