Mwiihangele urges entrepreneurs to persevere

WINDHOEK, Mar. 7 – Being a good business person requires one to persevere and be committed to your vision, even when things seem to be bleak and no-one else believes in your dreams.

These were the sentiments shared by Sandra Mwiihangele, founder of Kiyomisandz Beauty Products and the only Namibian on Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list as of 2017. Mwiihangele was speaking at the second Start Up Grind event held last Thursday, 1 March, which was sponsored by Standard Bank, in collaboration with Windhoek Chapter of Start-Up Grind.

Start-Up Grind is a global start-up community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Founded in Palo Alto, California, it is powered by Google for Entrepreneurs and has a network of Start-Up Grind chapters are located around the world.

The young entrepreneur told those in attendance that her journey to success was not a smooth one, encountering failure in the beginning of her career and feelings of inadequacy as she watched her peers succeed excel in their chosen fields.

“My journey has not been easy; there have been nights were I cried…Not everyone will understand your vision. I learned things the hard way but that is good because it built my character and helped me learn valuable lessons,” she said.

Pointing out the international standards which she has upheld her business to that subsequently led to her Forbes Africa accolade, she encouraged local entrepreneurs to ensure that their products are of the best quality at all times.

Furthermore, she suggested that aspiring entrepreneurs to find inventive ways such as crowdfunding or bootstrapping to raise funds for their business so as to not start off already being in debt.

“Every successful business person has had to find ways to make sure that their business is a success,” she stressed. – NDN Staffer