A fresh produce vendor selling alongside the road in Omindamba village in the Outapi constituency of the Omusati Region, Sophia Shapwako, says business has been slow in 2024 and is no longer fulfilling her desire for personal growth.

She and her husband have been selling fruits and vegetables since 2016, and business has been booming in recent years. However, revenue generation has dropped drastically in 2024.

High unemployment has forced people to start similar businesses selling fresh produce alongside the road, and they are now competing for customers with the existing traders.

She says fresh produce prices have also increased as horticulture producers, who are their suppliers, are complaining of high input costs.

Theft of their produce by criminals who break into their corrugated iron sheet stall and steal their goods is another contributing factor to slow business in 2024.

Shapwako is appealing for financial support from the government to build modern stalls for vendors so that criminals will not be able to enter their stalls easily.