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Economic empowerment opportunity

Hinauarue Rijatua

The Seth Mataba Boois Foundation was established in memory of the late Seth Mataba Boois, a Namibian legend and hero. Boois was the technical director and coach of the Namibia national football team, the Brave Warriors. He was also the author of five books. Being the historian and community activist that he was, Boois was passionate about the upliftment of young people and encouraged economic emancipation.

“It is in his remembrance that this Foundation actively strives to seek opportunities to grow Namibian businesses,” says Beatrix Bianca Boois, the eldest daughter of the late Boois.

The economic empowerment opportunity is aimed at bringing services closer to communities by offering office space as well as on-site accommodation to young professionals who are willing to set up an office. These include legal practitioners, doctors and dentists in need of consulting rooms, to name a few examples. The office space is located at Kalkrand, a small village between Rehoboth and Mariental in the Hardap Region.

Villagers have travel up to 90 kilometres to find a lawyer, doctor or dentist.

“Basic essential services such as filling prescriptions at a pharmacy are unavailable,” says Boois.

The office space and on-site accommodation is offered free of charge for 12 months. It will offer young professionals the opportunity to focus their time and energy on growing their business instead of worrying about paying the rent.

“The outcome of the initiative will be twofold,” says Boois. Firstly, the fact that a young Namibian who may otherwise not have had the necessary financial backing will be enabled to set up a private practice. Secondly, the community of Kalkrand, which is made up of teachers, police officers, health workers and farmers, will have a professional service brought closer to them.

Boois said the recently established foundation aims to create scholarship opportunities in the future and other funding initiatives encouraging young Namibians to achieve not only their educational but professional goals too.

The main aim of the foundation is to encourage the spirit of economic emancipation and also to encourage the desire for growth through literacy, sports and educational programmes.

“We wish to pick up where he left off,” says Boois.