JABU Logistics present at the launch of the Namibia Trade Forumās first e-commerce engagement in partnership with Trade Forward Southern Africa āPositioning e-commerce as an enabler for tradeā
Windhoek, Namibia, April – On Thursday, 21 April 2022, JABU Logistics was one of four (4) Namibian businesses called to present their e-commerce success story at the launch of Namibia Trade Forumās first e-commerce engagement in partnership with Trade Forum Southern Africa āPositioning e-commerce as an enabler for tradeā. The engagement and training event aims to equip businesses with practical elements of doing business online and leveraging off e-commerce to access wider markets outside physical presence.
Stacey Pinto, CEO of Namibia Trade Forum, welcomed attendees to the event by stating that infrastructure and policy are two important pillars of ecommerce hence the organization’s intention to support the private sector and make the transitional journey to digital business as smooth as possible.
Keynote Speaker, Honourable Emma Theofelus opened the event by saying, āEcommerce is much broader [than the internet]. Since the pandemic, we have seen the demand and power of ecommerce, which has created significant opportunities for business and has shown that it is a critical enabler for trade in an ever-changing and complex world. For trade and tech to succeed there needs to be infrastructure and policy, yes, but also a situation where a business owner is confident and can trust these structures. The MICT is currently working on strengthening laws & interventions and assembling a cyber security team to support ecommerce platforms and to ensure that e-trade succeeds. E-commerce business means tapping into global markets and scaling and the Ministry is always ready to support business and activities within the ecommerce space.ā
Stakeholders from various industries, namely the Namibian Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Trade Forum Southern Africa, the British High Commissioner to Namibia as well as Namibian businesses operating in cosmetics, agri-processing and natural products were present at the launch providing insights, training, information and encouragement to all Namibian participants of online trade.
Founder and CEO of JABU Logistics, David Akinin who represented JABU at the event, shared JABU ās e-commerce success story and spoke of the challenges JABU has faced when starting a tech company in the country. Despite the obvious barriers to technology that the average Namibian faces, Akinin says there are several structural issues, especially education. āI cannot stress the importance of changing our curriculum in the tech field to make sure that companies like JABU can start hiring more Namibian talent in the next two to three years,ā he said. He further called on key players in the education and government sector to prioritize technology in all spheres in order to enable the growth of the industry. The event also saw the launch of the JABUZone, a community newspaper written and printed by JABU sharing community insights and stories.
The NTF event has since seen regional launches in other cities and towns across the country namely in Oshakati, Swakopmund and Katima Mulilo.
About the Namibia Trade Forum
The main mandate of the Namibia Trade Forum is to institutionalise public-private dialogue and cooperation with emphasis on international and domestic trade and investment policies as stipulated by the National Development Plan. The role of the NTF is to act as the main consultative body representing the private sector views to the government. It thus serves as the highest public private partnership on international and domestic trade and investment matters of government through workshops, seminars, trade negotiations, meetings, media releases etc.
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