By Staff reporter

WINDHOEK, May 15 — The Capricorn Foundation officially launched phase two of its Food Waste Challenge (FWC) in April 2023, seeking innovative solutions to address food waste in Namibia while creating employment opportunities for Namibians.

The FWC, titled “Using Social Entrepreneurship to Radically Reduce Food Waste and Create Employment Opportunities,” is an open innovation platform that offers a cash prize of N$100,000 from the Capricorn Foundation. In addition, Synergi Marketing PTY Ltd will provide a branding refresh and a marketing package worth N$50,000. The project partners include Business Box Windhoek and the Gondwana Care Trust.

Proposals will be evaluated based on predefined criteria through two rounds of expert panel assessments. The submissions must meet specific requirements, supported by well-structured arguments and references. Aspiring social entrepreneurs and social enterprises are encouraged to provide original and impactful solutions for any aspect of the food waste lifecycle, such as collecting food waste, verifying its suitability for consumption, and distributing edible food to vulnerable individuals.

Who can participate in the challenge?

1. Individual Participants: Individuals aged sixteen (16) years or older at the time of registration.
2. Team Participants: Teams of up to eight (8) individuals aged sixteen (16) years or older at the time of registration.
3. Business Entity Participants: Legal business entities.

How to enter and submit ideas?

To participate in the competition, visit https://www.capricornfoodwastechallenge.skild.com. The deadline for entries is 22 May 2023 at 16:00. Complete the online registration form accurately and truthfully, accept the Terms and Conditions, and follow the instructions for submitting an Entry as outlined on the site. Existing businesses submitting proposals to expand their operations must provide proof of their current activities and evidence of the impact they have made thus far.

What kind of ideas and solutions are sought?

The Capricorn Foundation is seeking original proposals for starting or scaling up a Social Enterprise that designs or advances products, services, processes, systems, or programs aimed at reducing food waste in Namibia in a self-sustaining manner. The solutions should not rely solely on grants or donations and should also create employment opportunities. Participants can submit their entries individually, as part of a team, or as a Business Entity.

How will ideas be evaluated?

All eligible entries will be evaluated in Round 1 based on the following criteria:

1. Relevance: Does the proposal address the challenge of reducing food waste, creating employment opportunities, and being self-sustaining?
2. Creativity: Does the proposed solution demonstrate a unique approach?
3. Feasibility: Does the venture have a realistic chance of successful implementation?
4. Planning: Is there a clear and well-defined strategy to achieve objectives and goals?
5. Self-sustaining: Can the business maintain itself?
6. Social Impact: What value will the new venture bring to society?
7. Inspiration: Will the solution inspire people to address the issues of food waste and unemployment in Namibia? This criterion will be considered in case of ties among the entries.

The evaluation and scoring process for Round 2 will be the same as in Round 1, and participants will also present their ideas (pitch) to the judging panel.

For more information and to enter the challenge, please visit https://capricornfoodwastechallenge.skild.com. If you have any inquiries, you can contact Rikus Grobler, Manager: Innovation of Capricorn Group, at foodwastechallenge@capricorn.com.na. – Namibia Daily News

WINDHOEK, May 13  — The Namibian economy, which is closely linked to South Africa, with the Namibia dollar pegged one-to-one to the South African rand, is set to feel the ripple effects of geopolitical tensions, a Namibia expert told Xinhua Friday.

Namibian economic analyst and researcher Josef Sheehama highlighted this following the South African rand recently weakening past 19 rands per U.S. dollar for the first time since COVID-19.

“South Africa is Namibia’s major import partner of about 66 percent to 80 percent of total imports. It is early to tell if economic sanctions will be imposed against South Africa, should it be true as alleged by Western countries that South Africa aids material support to countries in conflict, the effects of any sanction will affect Namibia’s economy and local market, even if we don’t have the same problems as South Africa, we are still exposed to all the external factors,” he told Xinhua.

Sheehama said with Namibia’s current narrow industrial and export base, it is going to be difficult to withstand the external shocks.

“Our economy is reliant on a portion of sectors such as fishing, diamonds, and uranium mining. Therefore, should the variables influencing the pair continue at their current state, the rand/Namibia dollar will find it difficult to regain any momentum,” he said.

According to Sheehama, there is a need to understand that a weaker currency could increase the cost of imports, as Namibia uses U.S. dollars to buy oil and other commodities and the negative market sentiments cause capital flight.

Sheehama is of the view that the geopolitical shifts are likely to put incremental pressure on the rand/Namibia dollar over time.

“However, cumulatively, they may start to change investors’ minds on the currency. If they do, the rand/Namibia dollar has a long way to fall given relative depreciation. If momentum builds behind a weakening rand/Namibia dollar, it will have significant repercussions across financial markets,” he concluded.

According to the Bank of Namibia’s economic outlook update report in March, Namibia’s economic growth already is expected to weaken over the next two years as global demand declines and consumer spending power reduces. (Xinhua)