Serving the community

In most parts of Namibia, young people who aren’t pursuing studies are wandering the streets in search of jobs. In such cases, vocational skills come to the rescue.

One small enterprise that is giving young people with vocational skills a platform to make use of their skill set is JH Technical Services, situated in Katutura’s Hakahana settlement. Founded by Jonas Shali, JH Technical offers services such as air-conditioning installations, plumbing and appliance repairs. “We have been in business since 2014 and at the moment we have managed to employ seven young people from our community,” says Shali.

Shali says he started JH Technical Services to serve the Namibian community at large, therefore he aspires to have branches in different parts of the country within the next two years.

“We are working hard to get to that level and we are confident that with hard work we will be able to achieve our goals. We want to at least employ 10-15 people in two years’ time.”

Despite recording a positive growth in his business since its inception, Shali admits that it has not been all smooth sailing. Securing an ideal workshop is one challenge that Shali identified as a challenge that hampers the growth of JH Technical Services.

“Rent is expensive, so we end up settling for a venue that sometimes does not fully meet our needs.

“Another challenge is that the industry is becoming flooded with other business that offer the same services, so getting tenders has become a big issue,” he says.

Shali sees marketing as the solution to this problem. “We advertise with the media now and all this is in an effort for people to get to know what we do because we are always ready to assist,” he says.