CHAIRPERSON of the of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) northern region, Tomas Iindji has highlighted constant stakeholder engagements as a driving force to business continuity and growth.
Addressing delegates at the 4th Confidente-NCCI business cocktail held at the Ongwediva Trade Fair last week, Iindji also lauded this year’s partners Letshego Namibia and Ohorongo Cement for having taken the opportunity to engage northern stakeholders.HAIRPERSON of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) northern region, Tomas Iindji has highlighted constant stakeholder engagements as a driving force to business continuity and growth.
“One of the most crucial approach of ensuring business continuity and growth is by allowing room for constant engagement and communication with key stakeholders. These kinds of engagements are normally executed directly or indirectly through various means but face to face interactions remain central in bolstering our relations. This is why we encourage these kinds of meetings with you our distinguished business stakeholders,” Iindji said.
He further stated that the Chamber had a lot of programs that it was trying to examine and trying to use to advocate and support the private sector.
“Some of the innovative plans include the support of women and youth entrepreneurs who are the most important upcoming business segments to support the SME, and one dedicated to export training. The idea is that innovation and creativity must be looked at, not only at a local or regional level, but it should be looked at on an international front too. We are proud to say that the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development continue to engage the NCCI members through business missions abroad for reasons of exposure,” added Iindji.
In view of the cement industry, Iindji reiterated that with an oversupply of cement in the local Namibian market as well as overcapacity in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), it is questionable if more cement plant would be beneficial for the country unless the focus is on SADC counties.
“With a current economic pressure, we also believe that there will be no major infrastructure projects and no major private, capital expenditures. We have looked at all the projects that have been proposed, all the municipalities, government, foreign direct investments and all that, but we see nothing on the horizon in the next 24 months which presents a major problem for this sector.
“There are also fears that most countries in southern Africa will adopt protectionist policies which could be disastrous for the Namibian manufacturers. We must make sure that as much as we encourage FDI to come to Namibia, we need to emphasize that Namibian interest should be taken first in depth,” Iindji concluded.
Sources: http://www.confidente.com.na/2018/09/stakeholder-engagement-critical-for-business-iindji/
