The Mobile Telecommunication Company (MTC) has selected 200 applicants from a pool of 8,000 for its MTC 4Life Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, which aims to empower young entrepreneurs in various fields.
According to MTC’s Public Relations Officer Erasmus Nekundi, the vetting and shortlisting process has been completed and interviews with prospective candidates will be held this month.
“The programme is well on track. The vetting and shortlisting process was completed and all prospective candidates were informed mid-December last year (2022) for their interviews. The interviews will be conducted this month to enable the programme training to commence early next month (February) as planned,” he told The Brief.
Launched last year, the N$2.6-million initiative is aimed at combating poverty and youth unemployment in Namibia through empowering individuals to become self-employed in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector.
At least 50 youth from all 14 regions of the country will receive business and financial training, as well as start-up toolkits, to enable them to start their own micro businesses immediately following the training.
The training will be offered in 10 professions, including photography and videography, graphic design, hairdressing, and catering.
MTC has partnered with reputable and previously disadvantaged Namibian SMEs in each profession to provide the candidates with practical training, which will last between three and 10 days.