Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The ministry of finance will establish an integrated data platform to track the National Youth Entrepreneurship Fund (NYEF) in real time.
Minister of finance Ericah Shafudah announced the plan during a briefing to the National Assembly this week.
“This platform will enable real-time monitoring, improve decision-making, and ensure that the Fund remains adaptive and responsive to the needs of the youth segment,” Shafudah said.
The system will link all development finance institutions (DFIs) responsible for disbursing funds, including the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank), and the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF).
Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) has indicated it is not yet ready to participate but has expressed willingness to join once operationally prepared.
The platform will also connect to other ministries and agencies that support youth initiatives.
“The centralised system will connect to all OMAs supporting youth initiatives, promoting inter-institutional collaboration, reducing duplication of funding, and improving overall resource allocation,” Shafudah said.
The NYEF has an initial allocation of N$257 million for the 2025/26 financial year. It is designed to empower young Namibians to start, sustain, and expand businesses across multiple sectors. The fund also includes an endowment component to ensure sustainability.
According to Shafudah, “Interest income generated from the capital can be reinvested on a revolving basis, providing ongoing financial support for youth enterprises while attracting additional resources from external financiers.”
The fund will implement monitoring and evaluation systems to measure outcomes. These will include the number of enterprises initiated, sustained, or expanded; employment created and the delivery of mentoring, coaching, and advisory support. “These measures will track the effectiveness of resource mobilisation through the endowment capital,” Shafudah said.
Hosted within the ministry of finance, the NYEF will use multiple DFIs as conduits to finance youth enterprises. This approach is expected to reduce delays that often came from relying on a single channel.
A pilot phase ran from 1 August to 4 September 2025 to test youth engagement, application writing and planning skills, and readiness for the full roll-out.
Regional governors will now submit applications to the ministry, which will work with DFIs to adjudicate and select successful proposals.
“The ministry of finance will develop a data and monitoring platform that will link the underlying lending conduits to ensure an adequate management information system. The integrated data system, along with partners, will track youth businesses annually, using digital tools for beneficiary feedback and data collection,” Shafudah said.
The platform is part of a broader government strategy to strengthen youth entrepreneurship, support economic inclusion, and contribute to the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).
Young entrepreneurs reacted with mixed views. Business owner Taimi Nghipandulwa, who runs an agri-processing start-up in Ongwediva, said she hopes the system will improve transparency.
“In the past, applying for youth funds was frustrating because there was no feedback or clear communication. If this platform makes it easier to track applications, then it’s a big step forward,” she said.
However, Joseph Iileka of CompSoft in Windhoek cautioned that digital systems alone may not solve deeper challenges.
“Access to funding is not just about monitoring. Many young people struggle with meeting collateral requirements or lack mentoring to structure their businesses properly,” he said.
