By Dhiladhila Magazine · Issue 05

For one December evening, Windhoek's founders swapped the pitch for a party of their own.

On a Thursday evening in early December 2019, the founders behind eleven young Namibian businesses gathered at 99 FM’s building in Windhoek for a night that was theirs. Hosted by Ilke Platt of Poiyah Media, Launch Namibia’s first startup awards, reported by The Namibian, turned the usual solitary grind of building a business into a shared celebration.

A scene meeting itself

The pleasure of the evening was recognition of a social kind. Entrepreneurship in Namibia is often a lonely undertaking, pursued between day jobs and family obligations in a country where the path is not yet well worn. An awards night gathers those scattered people into one room and lets them see that they are a group, not a handful of isolated strivers.

The details made it a proper occasion rather than a business meeting. A local host, a photographer, event and vintage-collection partners and a brewer’s sponsorship gave the night the texture of a cultural event – a rare moment when building a small company looked less like a hardship and more like something a community turns out to applaud. When a young founder watches peers celebrated, the choice to keep going becomes a little easier, and starting a business becomes a little more normal.

The real award was the room itself – proof that Namibia’s founders are a community.

For anyone in the events, hospitality and leisure trades, the evening is a small template worth noticing: a low-cost gathering that turns a scattered professional scene into a night people want to attend. The move is to give a community a reason to assemble, and let the sense of belonging do what a cheque alone cannot.

Sources: The Namibian; Promoting Entrepreneurship amid Youth in Windhoek (ResearchGate); The Namibian