This year, the NBII Business Plan Competition was open to current NUST students, who sought to further their entrepreneurial skills as well as develop their business ideas into viable plans.

Bernice Karuhumba, Entrepreneurship and Incubation Manager: Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII), pictured with students who took part in the competition.“We are determined to stimulate innovativeness and competitiveness among the students by encouraging them to build businesses from their academic training” said Bernice Karuhumba, the Entrepreneurship and Incubation Manager at NBII.

This year, Annemarie Saunderson walked away with the coveted top prize of seed funding worth N$25 000, a laptop, and mentorship from NBII’s Entrepreneurship and Incubation pillar.

Saunderson owns a start-up called Namibianart.net, which is an online portal that sells art from Namibia and by Namibians.

“Our business provides clients with a one-stop-shop, that mainly aims to attract tourists,” Saunderson explained. Saunderson is a post-graduate student pursuing a Master of Leadership and Change management.

All business plans that met the criteria were subjected to internal as well as external assessment. The plans were judged on quality, the business concept, innovativeness, usefulness, viability, growth potential and sustainability.