Young people in the Ohangwena Region have been urged to take advantage of the SME Expo to do business and, with the support of the government, tackle the challenges of unemployment among the youth.

The Governor of Ohangwena, Walde Ndevasheya, said this at the opening of the 2022 Endola Annual SME and Youth Expo.

The expo aims to provide a platform where entrepreneurs can gather to display and market their goods and services.

Nevashiya says expos such as these are crucial for small businesses in terms of networking and growth, as economic activities in rural areas are low.

"The Government of the Republic of Namibia will always support good initiatives that complement its efforts in accelerating development in various sectors of the economy to ensure that we improve the socio-economic conditions of people in line with HHPII, the NDP5, the SDGs, and ultimately Vision 2030."

So far, he says, the expo has gained popularity in the northern regions, and the community of Endola now has that exposure.

The office of the Governor is in the process of engaging development partners to organize a regional youth empowerment symposium, where all the youth in the region will come together to deliberate on the Regional Youth Empowerment Strategy. 

"This strategic document will then be used as a blueprint in the region to tackle issues of youth unemployment, a regional skills audit, and access to funding for youth enterprises. Rural economic development is one of the government's priorities since most farming and tourism activities take place in rural areas, and more than half of the population in our region lives in rural areas. Economic activity in rural areas remains low since most of the businesses are very small (informal or unregistered) and mainly concentrated in wholesale, retail, accommodation, and food services."

The expo is being held under the theme ''Empowering the youth and community through innovative business''. This is the third edition.