The Joint Consultative Council of Namibia: are you one of the many women entrepreneurs developing your own business? Do you know that the Joint Consultative Council is there to assist and support you through advice and training to improve and sharpen your business skills?

The Joint Consultative Council comprises 80 service providers (companies and institutions) as members and a staff team of five. It developed from a committee that was established in 1995, when a small group of companies agreed with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to serve as government's advisor on how best to deal with small business in Namibia.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What started as a committee soon developed into a regular body working with government to formulate policies regarding small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Namibia. In 1997, the government adopted the policy and programme on Small Business Development, and the consultative committee believed that it should continue giving advice, not only to government but also to the upcoming small and medium entrepreneurs.

The committee was renamed the Joint Consultative Council (JCC), and embraced the following set of core values:

* professionalism 

* being transparent and accountable

* being demand-driven

* being sensitive towards the needs of women, people with disabilities, and youth

* being an equal opportunity, party political neutral forum of member organisations.

The main partners of the JCC are the City of Windhoek, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The members of the JCC are service providers to the SMEs and comprise of training institutions, banks, insurance companies and others. These members have dedicated themselves to participate in projects that will boost the SME sector and thus help to propel the Namibian economy into a developed economy.

At the Small Business Information Centre run by the JCC and based at Soweto Market in Katutura, people can find information on any trade or business they may want to develop. Information is also provided on the different ways in which JCC member companies can help a small entrepreneur.

"We advise people who do not have enough capital to start small with the little capital that they have," says Tuwilika Hamwele, the JCC National Coordinator. "In our experience, such businesses have been more sustainable. We also offer training at a small fee. The training cannot be absolutely free because we want to draw people who are serious in starting up a business," she adds, explaining that the JCC tries to cover different categories of business from production and manufacturing to provision of services.

At the moment, the JCC only has the one business information centre at Soweto Market, but there are plans to open similar centres in the northern regions to expand the reach of the organisation. Three surveys conducted over an 18-month period by the JCC show that there is steady and worthwhile support available to SMEs from JCC member companies.

However, Tuwilika also observed that many entrepreneurs were unwilling to take time out for training to strengthen their business. "They think the business will not survive without them for five days. But they will be surprised at how much they will get out of their business after receiving training," she said. She especially urged women to take up the training courses offered by the JCC to boost their knowledge and expand their businesses, saying that this would pay off in the end.

You can contact the Joint Consultative Council at Tel [phone] or visit the Small Business Information Centre at Soweto Market during business hours.