Brightlight Agritech is one of the Sanlam Bridge winners who will gain entrepreneural skills and funding for its operations
Brightlight Agritech is one of the Sanlam Bridge winners who will gain entrepreneural skills and funding for its operations

Science meets innovation

An agribusiness for sustainable ways of farming
Wetumwene Shikage
Sanlam Namibia in conjunction with StartUp Namibia announced the five Sanlam bridge recipients on 24 June in Windhoek. Sanlam Bridge assists local

businesses with the necessary skills needed to run a business and capital to get the brand afoot. Awarded as one of the Sanlam Bridge winners is Brightlight

Agritech.

The agribusiness, founded by a final year science student at the University of Namibia (UNAM), Immanuel Simao, is an agricultural pioneer business that works through science and innovation with the focus set on producing bio-fertilisers to find a sustainable way of farming. This allows the production of crops for mass production and vegetables for human consumption in the country.

Simao’s experience is pegged on his childhood. Growing up, his family had a backyard garden where his mother grew vegetables like spinach, tomatoes and carrots. “In the process of tending to the garden every day, I identified challenges. The solutions I have come up with are now incorporated into the solutions that our business has to offer,” he said.

He says his business is uniquely driven by having an organic approach to fertilisers that are chemical free and he believes this is the way to contribute to sustainable agriculture in Namibia.

A helping hand

Simao says the funding received from Sanlam Bridge makes the operations of the business easier. “With these funds, we are able to start preparing for the production and the launch of our products and consequently get the business fully operational,” he said. Having the business function effectively allows Brightlight Agritech to help the local community.

The company will produce fertilisers fit for use by urban and rural farmers.

As a final year student, Simao says he has a lot on his plate, focusing not only on his business but also school work.

He says a typical office day includes him going through research papers about agriculture and learning to discover things he is not able to contextualise in the Namibian aspect.

Upon hearing he was one of the successful candidates for Sanlam Bridge, he says the feeling was surreal as he believes there were many other brilliant businesses who pitched their ideas. “It was really humbling and encouraging at the same time. My heart is indeed grateful,” he says.

Simao says the business is currently working on new products and other agricultural innovative mechanisms to be launched in the future.

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Republikein 2024-05-14

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 358.94/OZ UP +0.88% | Copper US$ 4.85/lb UP +2.08% | Zinc US$ 3 006.00/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 82.85/BBP DOWN -0.0119 | Platinum US$ 1 035.08/OZ UP +3.37% Sport results: Premier League: Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool | Manchester United 0 vs 1 Arsenal | Nottingham Forest 2 vs 3 Chelsea | Newcastle 1 vs 1 Brighton | Wolves 1 vs 3 Crystal Palace | Everton 1 vs 0 Sheffield United | West Ham 3 vs 1 Luton Town | Bournemouth 1 vs 2 Brentford | Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 1 Burnley | Fulham 0 vs 4 Manchester City LaLiga: Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Real Betis 3 vs 2 Almería | Valencia 0 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Atletico Madrid 1 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Cadiz 1 vs 0 Getafe | Athletic Club 2 vs 2 Osasuna | Granada 0 vs 4 Real Madrid | Villarreal 3 vs 2 Sevilla | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Las Palmas SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese | Atalanta 2 vs 1 AS Roma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Salernitana | Genoa 2 vs 1 Sassuolo | Hellas Verona 1 vs 2 Torino | SS Lazio 2 vs 0 Empoli | AC Milan 5 vs 1 Cagliari | Napoli 0 vs 2 Bologna European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United Weather: Katima Mulilo: 13° | 31° Rundu: 13° | 30° Eenhana: 17° | 32° Oshakati: 17° | 32° Ruacana: 18° | 32° Tsumeb: 15° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 29° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Gobabis: 14° | 25° Henties Bay: 15° | 32° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 13:52, High tide: 07:51, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:47 Swakopmund: 17° | 24° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:50, High tide: 07:49, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:45 Walvis Bay: 20° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:50, High tide: 07:48, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:44 Rehoboth: 14° | 26° Mariental: 15° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 30° Aranos: 16° | 28° Lüderitz: 18° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 29° Luanda: 24° | 27° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 13° | 27° Mbabane: 12° | 24° Maseru: 9° | 24° Antananarivo: 14° | 22° Lilongwe: 13° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Cape Town: 16° | 20° Durban: 17° | 26° Johannesburg: 15° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 16° | 26° Harare: 12° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.09 | EUR to NAD 19.87 | CNY to NAD 2.54 | USD to NAD 18.38 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.71 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 133.86 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.6 | USD to EGP 46.8 | USD to KES 129.48 | USD to NGN 1498 | USD to ZAR 18.38 | USD to ZMW 25.25 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 78632.56 Down -0.07% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1710.9 Down -2.52% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13501.46 Down -0.29% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25339.77 Down -0.16% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 358.94/OZ UP +0.88% | Copper US$ 4.85/lb UP +2.08% | Zinc US$ 3 006.00/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 82.85/BBP DOWN -0.0119 | Platinum US$ 1 035.08/OZ UP +3.37%