End of road for fabrication laboratory

Ndama NakasholeYou would notice its creativity when you pass by its colourful building near a road that divides the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)'s scattered buildings , a walking distance from the Windhoek city centre.This lab was awarded the coveted Innovation Excellence Award in 2014 by the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development as well as presented as the most innovative project for the SADC region during 2011-2015 for their HERD National wool campaign project, by the Finnish Southern African Innovation Support Programme (SAIS) in 2015, among other achievements.The first fabrication laboratory (FABlab) in Namibia, a centre of excellence at NUST fosters innovation through knowledge and skills transfer in digital technology, advanced manufacturing, design thinking and industry 4.0 applications.While I have been to this place several times, something that always impressed me about the place is the new different story I would here from the co-founders or/and staff every time.That made me assume the lab was on fire. Many people, especially the young innovators have benefited from this place.Networking with stakeholders across the world and conceptualising and driving the strategic goals of the lab from sourcing of funding to writing research papers, mentoring innovators and even manufacturing products on a daily basis, all took place at this place over the last few years it has been in existence.In 2016, I remember the lab telling me that it had (already) supported over 20 innovators to turn their ideas into tangible products and garnered over N$20 million in private equity investment for them over just 12 months.As a Namibian, I found joy in writing about some of their success stories over the past few years. I would also call them as a good source when I am doing a story regarding innovation in Namibia.“365 day countdown to the closing bell Fablab Namibia so take the opportunity to #create #getstarted #makesomething #inspire! The last few thousands are in the bank and our staff contracts end by June 2019” (sic), reads a Tweet by Fablab last week. The lab is closing. The countdown begins. It is an end of an era. I did not see this coming. Or perhaps I never asked about funding anytime I came across the Fablab team.Closure“We have just enough(funds) to keep operations going until about November based on our current calculations and staff contracts for the three employees end in June 2019,” Fablab co-founder Kirstin Wiedow tells me on query.The lab has been operating on the original funds received in 2013 and have not managed to garner any further monetary support to keep the lab open.The support to establish the lab came from GIZ for N$2.2 million, the industrialisation ministry (N$7 million) of which N$5 million went to equipment and machinery and the remaining amount to operations over the past few years.This funding came after five years of Kirstin and Bjorn Wiedow's pitching and trying to get people to believe in their idea to implement fabrication laboratories (FABlab's) as spaces that foster innovation and give people the opportunity they need to try and test new ideas and a place where they are not afraid to fail.The journeyReflecting on the journey it was an uphill battle in the beginning, said Kirstin.She said Bjorn and her as co-founders lived in a small flat above a factory in the industrial area with the dream to establish FABlab, pitching every day to anyone who would listen until eventually they got some where in 2013. “We spent five years prior to that pitching for investment to establish this space. The biggest hurdles were building a core group of talent over 2014 and 15 which we could then not keep due to lack of salary support and in 2016 we had to start from the bottom-up again.,” she said.The duo said they now have such a glorious group of creative talent at the lab “it will be sad to lose them when the lab doors close, but we believe they will go on to bigger and better things.”Start-up growthThe lab has always been operated in an organic manner, growing and changing to meet the needs, said the founders.“We have over 150 members who access the facility for free and use any machinery without cost, only being charged for the material they use - I hope they will also find a way to continue creating,” said Kirtin.Kirtin urged young local innovators to keep supporting the eco-system and building a positive and open environment to grow new ideas into something tangible.“FABlab is also a start-up, so we know the journey is not always easy but as some of our supporters have said, when one door closes - another opens,” she said.As the only rapid prototyping and future tech makerspace in the country, Kirstin said she definitely think the gap for tangible output will be agape due to the lab closure.The lab currently has three core staff, 2 interns and 3 incubated start-ups.

End of road for fabrication laboratory

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End of road for ­fabrication laboratory

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End of road for fabrication laboratory