**6. Conclusions and recommendations**

• How did the Nama people use indigenous knowledge to make a living?

they have no work ethic. This is evident from the quotes below:

*Thomas not his real name noted: "As a Nama I avoid risk at all cost as I do not want to fail*.*"*

ing force for any entrepreneurial venture to succeed.

*other tribes (e.g.: Oshiwambo). The work ethic of my people is relatively very low*.*"*

*youth look old, they appeared to be 70 years of age at 20*.

*patches and that is what created our own clothing identity*.*"*

the responses from the interviewees.

**Box 1.** SARA and THOMAS.

116 Indigenous People

**Box 2.** SAUL.

**Box 3.** BONJA.

**Box 4.** MONICA.

**Box 5.** ABSALOM.

**Box 6.** TUKULAN.

• How can indigenous entrepreneurship be defined in a Nama cultural context?

To answer these questions above it becomes important at this point in time to explore some of

It was interesting to note that one of the interviewees see the Nama people as very lazy and

Sara not her real name noted that: *"We are from broken homes, substance abuse, poverty and peoplewho are very inferior*.*"*

These two excerpts in Box 1 from Sara and Thomas are just one of the many challenges the Nama people in southern Namibia has to face with on a daily basis. Entrepreneurial success in the mainstream academic literature considers risk, tenacity and confidence as a major driv-

*Another respondent Saul on the other hand felt that success in entrepreneurship is not guaranteed and they as a family will try by all means possible to run away from challenges and problems. For him personally he feels that there are simply no aspirations among the community, but he loves the culture and still has hope that there is a possibility to find something entrepreneurial in it*

*A church leader (Bonja not his real name) amongst the local community has the notion that most of the young ladies become victims of teenage pregnancy (even at times from the same pastors) and alcoholism is king amongst the communities. The Nama* 

*"Monica (not her real name) noted that Nama people are very judgemental people, they assume that they are always better than the next person. They will at times view their own teacher as intellectually challenged and give off that sense that nobody can teach them anything, while they are unable to do anything. This can also be regarded as self-destructive behaviour."*

*"Absalom a local youth activist said that 27 years into Namibian independence a lot of effort has been made by the government to preserve employment for the Nama people, but people simply do not show up for work and most job opportunities are given to* 

*"Tukulan (not his real name) noted that staying in school is very difficult for me as a young person, as my parents never had proper education. What can possibly change for me differently compared to their times? I have no father figure and whenever he visits he beats up my mom. As a Nama man we were mostly regarded as hunters. We would haunt wild animals and use the skin after the animal is killed to make clothing. Any clothing we received from the white settlers were usually torn, so we have to make*  This chapter explored how the Namibian Nama people can be empowered through entrepreneurship. This research revealed that entrepreneurship was prominent among the Namibia Nama people, if we reflect back to the original definition of entrepreneurship to take your hand and do something. Research revealed that in the olden days when the Nama people of Namibia came into conflict with the colonisers or settlers they were constantly seeking new ways to defeat them. This certainly showed their tenacity, perseverance, persistence and patience. These latter mentioned qualities are very critical for any successful entrepreneur. The lifestyle of the Namibian Nama people is deeply rooted in culture and tradition. The uniqueness of the people lies in their strong ability to survive from hunting which is both a means to feed the family and also a very prominent. It became clear that indigenous entrepreneurship as defined by most prominent scholars refers to the use of indigenous knowledge by a certain tribe or group for their personal development or economic advance. This research forms part of the very few exploratory experiments which has been conducted in Namibia in terms of indigenous entrepreneurship. It is important to reiterate that the Nama people do not operate within isolation and that they are part of the bigger Namibian population. They have got a very unique yet significant role to make the economy better. It became clear from this study that the Nama people first need to develop a sense of trust and become more socially and economically intelligent. Stumbling blocks to creativity and innovation can be the colonial psychological mind-set which is still evident among the Nama people. Since Namibian independence in 1990, numerous entrepreneurial development projects and job opportunities were brought forth for the people, but they are simply not interesting to the extent that they see their lives any different than it is today. For any entrepreneurial program to flourish or make a significant change to the lives of the Nama people, they have to buy into it. They must want it more than anything.

This research has shown that the Nama people used both currency and barter as a form of exchange in the early days. For indigenous entrepreneurship to prosper new programs which encouraged a change of mind-set and harmony is required. The entrepreneurial values of the Nama people need to be in alignment with their culture. New development frameworks which understand and accepts that the Nama have stagnated, mentally, physically and at times emotionally needs to be developed for the future advancement of the people. It is important to make the Nama people aware that they have to deal with the traumatic past, regardless of how difficult it is. Nama people need to be reassured that their uniqueness and perseverance brings something special to the country. Mentoring and role modeling programs of Nama people whom have succeeded against all odds needs to be showcased.

Nama people feel that they have no sense of meaning, because their parents are or were not educated. It will be good to teach character development interventions in schools. Nama people should be educated about the importance of technical skills such as farming, technical subjects. In addition is important that the land of the Nama people be restored as that is a very critical component for any Nama person. The ability to have land of one's own. It became clear from this research that the sense of and cultural identity of the Nama people to impart knowledge to other tribes and clans needs to be restored, by reassuring the Nama people that they can achieve great things. Self-awareness is a major component which needs to be addressed also that the Nama people develop an appreciation of their culture and develop a strong drive and motivation.

The Namibian National Policy of entrepreneurship development with particular reference to indigenous people needs be developed. Once people have a policy document that guides their existence and the role they are able to play in the community, taking ownership becomes much easier. In New Zealand and Australia there are specific programs for indigenous people and how they can take pride of their culture, which also making a significant contribution to the economy. In New Zealand the Maori people also talks about Maoripreneurship. This gives the researchers great hope that the possibility of "Namapreneurship" is feasible. It could be a relatively new dimension, but a possibility of exploring a new theory cannot be ruled out. Once Namibian policymakers understand the importance of indigenous entrepreneurship and implement policies which are cultural sensitive entrepreneurial activity will certainly thrive among the Namibia Nama people. Currently there are no successful entrepreneurship programs based on indigenous people from the Nama people. An entrepreneurial mind-set, spirit and culture need to be established first. Each tribe or clan in Namibia needs to be reassured that they all have something very unique yet distinctive to offer. This study taught us that we must not only give food and money to beggars, as they will be forced to return and beg for more. However, if we teach them to be more self-sufficient, they will no longer be dependent, but they could help others too.
