THE HOME OF STARTUPS in Namibia
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t’s a whole new world out there, and here in Namibia a driven and dynamic group of people are stirring up the status quo of what it means to be innovative and resilient in business.
Globally, startup culture is well-established and an ingrained element of business environments. Cities across the world have established themselves as “Startup Hubs”, aiming to entice disruptive young entrepreneurs, rife with energy, ideas and drive, to choose them as their centre of operations when embarking on their new ventures. Think Berlin, San Francisco, New York City, Tel Aviv, Beijing. In Africa, it’s Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Lagos and Kigali. In our corner of the world, a wonderful initiative is ushering in the dawn of a new era in business: StartUp Namibia. A technical cooperation project implemented by GIZ together with the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, the City of Windhoek and the Ministry of Higher Education, Innovation and Technology. Funded by the German government, the project’s aim is to improve conditions for establishing and growing startups in selected regions of Namibia. StartUp Namibia is a one-stop shop for startups. The project supports startup development from the seeds of an idea, through prototyping and incubation up to accelerating
rapid growth and expansion into new markets. Startups will be equipped with tools, networks and resources for the formalisation of businesses with potential to grow fast. THINK OUTSIDE Located in Namibia’s capital of Windhoek, at the corner of John Meinert and Frans Indongo street, is Basecamp - the Incubation and Innovation Centre of the StartUp Namibia project. Basecamp is the home for Namibian startups and provides participants with a co-working space, community areas and a maker-space. “The Namibian startup ecosystem is still in its infancy and we are here to put our entrepreneurs, community and country on the global map.” Basecamp also partners with global incubators and accelerators in order to take their support programmes to the next level. They have partnered with Stellenbosch University Launch Lab, Future Females and MEST. Basecamp offers a support network, office space, internet and digital solutions and a whole lot more - always thinking outside the box! Do you have an idea or need help getting started, restructuring or rethinking your business? Visit startupnam.org or follow the project on social media and get your future started.
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