The Namibia Trade Forum (NTF) is confident that the art of writing has the potential to positively disrupt the market on the African continent and beyond.
The forum is seeking input from industry players on ways to include local and good-quality authentic Namibian books into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The buzz phrase currently on the agenda of the regional leaders is the African Continental Free Trade Area, an agreement that aims to see countries trade without much hindrance and red tape.
Stacey Susa-Pinto, the CEO of the Namibian Trade Forum, says that at times the value of authentic African stories, and in particular Namibian stories, is overlooked.
Her wish, says Susa-Pinto, is to add Namibian books to the country's export basket.
"Africa has great stories, Namibia even more, so today we want to meet Namibian writers and literary works and find out from a policy perspective how we can start promoting Namibian-written authentic pieces not only to Africa but to the world. We want to meet publishers and owners of book shops and figure out how we can increase market access."
Lisa Matomola, an HR consultant who just published her first book, praises the Namibia Trade Forum, saying that the platform will further bolster authors and those in the creative space to do more.
This is an opportunity to have books in other countries; there must be a better way for people to have access to our works without us having to give our works to friends to sell them for us."
Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and National Service, Emma Kantema Gaomas, while encouraging the youth to diversify and explore the creative space, stressed the importance of leadership to pay attention to how to expand the market for the creative industry.
"When you speak to the youth and when they take up space, the first challenge is to enter the marker, and I think this is the initiative that we need to support, and we all know the main objective of this campaign is to create a local market and maximise the capacity of local businesses."