Local businesses are urged to employ aggressive advertising strategies for their products and services in order to reach a wider market.
President Nangolo Mbumba emphasised this following visits to popular locations in Katutura.
President Mbumba, accompanied by Cabinet ministers and the management of the City of Windhoek, toured the industrial stalls in Wanaheda.
The Wanaheda Industrial stalls consist of six units and are part of the City of Windhoek's development initiatives to encourage income-generating opportunities.
Here, business and trading activities range from garment tailoring, furniture upholstery, refrigerator and air conditioning repairs, and other services.
A pleasant surprise for the President and staff members of the Presidency were custom-made fleece jackets and a gilet made by the seamstresses at the stalls.
Some of the vendors at the complex are beneficiaries of the Equipment Aid Scheme of the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and SME Development.
President Mbumba wants to increase the visibility of locally manufactured goods and services, as operations that are secluded would not attract a solid customer base.
"Honestly, we need to learn to do things with our hands. We cannot just continue to buy other people's products. Our children must wear what we produce, whether it's clothing or shoes. Workers in any country must be proud of what they produce, advertise them, and I am glad I came, also wearing a Namibian product."
Dr. Mbumba's next stop was the popular trading spot known as the Herero Mall in Katutura.
This is where traders have set up makeshift structures to provide services ranging from hairdressing, food, meat cutting, to liquor outlets.
Similarly, President Mbumba also called for regular engagement between the responsible government agencies and the traders.
"We must work together to improve our economy and our living conditions to create a much happier country. We need to visit you as much as you want to visit me."
The government has plans to formalize the Herero Mall in collaboration with the Namibia Informal Sector Association, says the Minister of Trade Lucia Iipumbu.
"We are working on guidelines for the traders on how they should behave, where they should keep their stock, and how they should keep it. We are also working on a policy on informal traders and startups, which now addresses the issue of ensuring that they are registered somewhere so that tomorrow when we need to find them, we are able to track them down. This is a lesson we learned from COVID because during that time, we had some support and equipment we wanted to distribute to them, but when everyone was told to go home, there were no records of them."
The City of Windhoek has also committed to improving the popular buzzing spot, which has since become a household name in central Katutura.