Empowering 150 Future Entrepreneurs in Namibia

The After School Program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Entrepreneurship training
program has been developed in line with other Namibian training syllabi and training
programs of similar nature. This Training Curriculum is applicable from the stage of Primary to
Secondary education and at equivalent stages of non-formal education (as a part of life-long

learning) recognise the uniqueness of the learner and adhere to the philosophy of learner-
centred education, in line with the Namibian National Curriculum Guidelines which aims to

achieve the following objectives:
Recognise that learning involves developing values and attitudes as well as knowledge
and skills
Promotes self-awareness and an understanding of the attitudes, values and beliefs of
others in a multilingual and a multicultural society
Encourage respect for human rights and freedom of speech
Provide insight and understanding of crucial “global” issues in a rapidly changing world
which affect quality of life: the AIDS pandemic, global warming, environmental
degradation, unequal distribution of wealth, expanding and increasing conflicts, the
technological explosion and increased connectivity
Recognise that as information in its various forms becomes more accessible, learners
need to develop higher cognitive skills of analysis, interpretation and evaluation to use
information effectively
Seek to challenge and to motivate learners to reach their full potential and to
contribute positively to their lives, economy and society
Thus, this Curriculum should provide opportunities for developing essential/key skills across
the whole entrepreneurship field. Such skills cannot be developed in isolation and they may
differ from context to context according to the field of study.
Entrepreneurship contributes directly to the development of the 8 key skills marked:

• critical and creative thinking skills
• communication skills
• information skills
• numeracy skills
• physical skills
• problem solving skills
• self-management and competitive skills
• social and co-operative skills
• work and study skills

2. RATIONALE
The particular features of Entrepreneurship at this phase intend to impart the basic concepts
of entrepreneurial skills in the learners that will enable them to create jobs for themselves
and for others in the future.

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ASPOVC: Draft Entrepreneurship Training Curriculum
It will help learners to apply the enterprise knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired to solve
environmental, economic and social problems in their everyday lives. The subject will help
learners change their mind-sets about working for themselves and give them an
understanding of the importance of good working habits and developing positive attitudes
towards work. It will also help learners to be creative in initiating and organising an enterprise.
3. AIMS
The Entrepreneurship curriculum aims to:

• foster awareness of local, regional and national needs of Namibia and
contributes to the country’s development and the population’s employment
• play an effective and productive role in the economic life of the nation
• contribute to the development of creative learners with knowledge and
positive attitudes needed for work, including self-employment
• develop a sense of responsibility for restoring and maintaining ecological
balances through the sustainable management of natural resources
• develop knowledge and understanding of how the main types of business and
commercial institutions, are organised, financed and operated and how their
relations with other organisations, consumers, employees, owners and society
are regulated
• strengthen and develop more effective links with the business community
• develop skills of numeracy, literacy, enquiry, selection and employment of
relevant sources of information, presentation and interpretation
• develop social skills in learners
• develop an awareness of the nature and significance of innovation and change
• acquire knowledge and understanding of the effect of HIV and AIDS on
enterprise activity
• understand the impact and influence of enterprise activity on the environment
and on Human Rights • exhibit entrepreneurial traits and cultures
• instil self-discipline, diligence and a sense of responsibility to encourage worthy
citizenship
• develop confidence in generating novel ideas by scanning their environment,
community, tendering options and using opportunities arising from other
school subjects and the environment to establish an enterprise
• create an awareness of carrying out the steps to establish and manage an
enterprise successfully while applying positive beliefs

4. LEARNING CONTENT
The learning content is divided into two broad themes as : Theme 1: Introduction to
Entrepreneurship Theme 2: Entrepreneurship in Practice

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ASPOVC: Draft Entrepreneurship Training Curriculum
4.1. Theme 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship
This theme aims to provide leaners with the basic knowledge around the concept of
entrepreneurship and business practices in general. The subjects or topics to be offered will
be able to open the eyes of our young leaners the pros and cons of doing business to first time
entrepreneurs.

STUDY MATERIALS
Since there are no tailor-made study or teaching materials for this program, the institution has
to, in the interim, improvise with making provision for relevant study materials and resources
that can be helpful to the learners and aid in their learning process.
We envisage to acquire teaching and learning materials from the following sources:
Government Textbooks
Internet Sources
Other teaching agencies
Social Media platforms

However, the institution plans to generate its own teaching and learning materials that are
custom made to fit the program as well as to generate manuals for follow-on programs that
graduate leaners will be using as “go-to” references during their practical activities or through
real entrepreneurship journey.

• ASPOVC_DRAFT_CURRICULUM.pdf (PDF)
  

Dear Friends,

In business, being - Visionary, Resilient, and Innovative are the three key attributes that define successful young entrepreneurs and individuals. But in Life, generally, certain characteristics make the YOUTH admirable and help them to stand out as unique.

However, most start-ups do not have the knowledge to formulate a sound business plan that has the potential for loan approval. It was then imperative for our Organization to go out of our way and offer training sessions to 20 entrepreneurs.

The trained participants had different trades they operated in their various locations. These ranged from welding, carpentry, tailoring, computer repairs, and catering.

The awareness of accessing funding from our organization for start-up entrepreneurs

Subtheme 1: Opinion about start-up businesses accessing funding or loans to develop/boost their businesses

Asked about what they thought about accessing funding to develop their businesses, participants had mixed feelings. The majority of participants were in support of start-ups getting loans to develop their businesses while few were not.

According to the accounts given by participants, findings indicate that many start-ups preferred to access funding to finance their start-ups since they started with little resources while few start-ups believed in working hard to grow their businesses with little capital coming from their savings.

• Report_business_global.docx (DOCX)