About The Awards

During the 29 years since its inception, this prestigious Awards programme has proudly honoured women whose achievements, commitment and vision have made them leaders in their chosen fields of endeavour.

Just as importantly, the Awards have also taken tremendous pride in recognising women whose self-sacrifice, unwavering dedication and generosity of spirit have led others to achieve greatness in their own right. That is why the Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards are so wonderfully unique; why they are such an important part of the Namibian business calendar; and why, our winners could come from any field, and be at any stage of their career.

There is no single ‘type’ of woman who wins. They come from all walks of life and professions. Some have a few years’ experience. Others have many.

Some are in traditional fields of business. Others are trailblazing new career paths. What they all share is a strong sense of self and a belief that anything is possible – and they share their stories with us. For over two decades, the Awards have celebrated outstanding businesswomen and given them an opportunity for national recognition. The story of each Award winner is unique, yet they all share qualities of courage, leadership, creativity and business success.

Aim of the Awards Programme

• Honouring those individuals whose ingenuity, hard work and innovation have created successful and growing business ventures.
• Promote the creation of small businesses in Namibia.
• To give recognition to innovation, perseverance and creativity of the people who run small, medium or large business enterprises.
• To reward and encourage high quality professional, entrepreneurs and career women for their excellence.
• To showcase role models for budding entrepreneurs and career women
• To honour those who form the core of economic growth and contribute to the well being of our society
• Driving economic wellbeing

History

The title Namibian Businesswoman of the Year was first awarded in 1994 to Sharon Moore, who at that stage was the founding general manager of M-Net Namibia. She subsequently became a very successful entrepreneur, joining her husband Derrick Moore in his Satcom business.

The first entrepreneur to receive the award was the 1995 nominee Carola Werner of Tishlerei Werner. It was in this year, that it became clear the adjudication process would have to make a clear distinction between professional women and entrepreneurs. This was also in line with similar developments in other countries where Businesswoman awards are in place. The third recipient, Dr Karin von Wenzel Obholzer who took the honours in 1996, came from a professional background. She was instrumental in establishing the AB May Cancer Research Centre in the Ministry of Health. This facility is on par with first world research facilities.

Thus from 1997 onwards, the award was split into the two current categories Entrepreneur and Corporate / Professional and in that year, Carol Dercksen of Executive Office Collections became the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year, Category: Entrepreneur. In 1998, Professor Agnes van Dyk, Dean of the faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Namibia, received the award in the category Corporate / Professional.

Another watershed in the award’s history came in 1999, when the very able Ms Sara Elago became the first black woman to be the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year. This was again in the category Entrepreneur, followed by another black achiever, Lena Markus in 2000, this time in the category Corporate / Professional.

 The first woman from a centre outside Windhoek to be named the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year in 2001 is Anita Devenish, an entrepreneur from Oshakati. Dr Christina Swart-Opperman, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Windhoek received the award in 2002. She launched the Christina Swart-Opperman Aids Orphans Foundation Trust. Maria Shivute won the award in the category entrepreneur in 2003 based in Oshakati and launched a food scheme for orphaned children in the northern regions.

Dr Victoria Nicodemus MD of Namibia Wildlife Resort won the award in 2004 in the category corporate/professional and Amalia Schmidt in 2005 as an entrepreneur a well-known property developer based in Ongwediva.

In 2007 the format of the Award was changed to accommodate 4 categories presented every second year.

The winner in 2007 was Riana Potgieter in the category entrepreneur who founded the first wellness and beauty school for Namibians. In 2009 it was Hettie Garbers-Kirsten a professional lawyer who started her own firm who took the honours. Nangula Uaandja, the Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers won the award in 2011 and Ericah Shafudah, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance won the award in the category Community & Government in 2013.

Next came Baronice Hans Head: Personal & Business Banking and Executive Director at Standard Bank Namibia who took the honours at the award function on 14 October 2015. Shortly after she was appointed as the Managing Director of Bank Windhoek. Nangula Kauluma, Managing Director of Old Mutual Short-term Insurance won the award in 2017. She is currently the MD of Outsurance Namibia and Executive Director: Premium Banking of First National Bank Namibia. Hendrina Hango-Ndakola took the honours in 2019 in the category Business Owner. She is a pharmacist and the owner for Natu pharmaceuticals which includes two pharmacies and a wholesale medical distributor.

Winners are appointed ambassadors for the programme and are expected to attend speaking engagements for the sponsors and the Namibia Economist.

Background

Management of the award was taken over by the Namibia Economist in 1997. In that year it was decided to present the award in two categories namely Entrepreneur and Corporate / Professional.

Due to the relatively small number of self-employed businesswomen and the small number of professional career woman, the two categories were alternated from one year to the next. This has removed several obstacles in presenting an award adjudicated on fair and equally applicable criteria for all nominees. This scenario has improved due to legislation and awareness raising with the result that the span of the awards campaign is growing continually.

In 2007 the format for the Award was changed drastically and now includes 4 award categories.

The Award Categories

To ensure each entrant is judged on their individual merit, there are four Award categories. One for business owners, one for the corporate sector, one for community and government, plus a special category for young businesswomen.

• Business Owner Award
  Open to: Owners with a 50 per cent share or more in a business with responsibility for key management decision-making.
• Private and Corporate Sector Award
  Open to: Employees in the private and corporate sectors, or owners with less than a 50 per cent share of a business.
• Community and Government Award
  Open to: Employees of government departments, statutory bodies and not-for-profit organizations.
• Young Businesswoman Award
  Open to: All entrants in one of the categories listed above who will be aged 30 years or under as at 4 June 2024.
• Overall Winner of the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year
  Winners of each of the three Business Categories automatically become eligible for the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year.

National Winners
Each winner goes on to become a finalist in the National Awards ceremony. In this ceremony, the Namibian Businesswoman of the Year is announced.

The Events

Introduction of judges and candidates: Date to be advised, Windhoek.
Panel Judging of candidates for the Category awards: Date to be advised, Windhoek.
National presentation: October 2024, Windhoek.

For more information:

Phone 061-221925 or 081 1283225 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday or
Or contact us via email marketing@economist.today

Key Information for Winners of the 2024/25 Programme

Winners will be appointed ambassadors for the programme and will be expected to attend speaking engagements for the sponsors and the Namibia Economist.

Prizes

• A framed commemorative Awards certificate.
• Two tickets to the national Awards Presentation ceremony.
• Permission to display the Namibian Businesswoman’s Awards logo on company stationery and advertising material.
• Professional quality video and photographs from the Awards presentation ceremony.
• The Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards provide finalists and winners with the rich experience of self-evaluation and connection with other outstanding women.

“The Awards are an amazing and unparalleled experience. The application process was a very cathartic experience. It was great to be able to put all my dreams and goals on paper.”

“When opportunities are given to you which stretch you and even make you feel vulnerable, this is the time to step up and to take the opportunity to learn and grow.”

We hope you enjoy completing your entry and allow yourself this chance to take pride in your story and truly appreciate your achievements.

Namibian Businesswoman of the Year

As winners from previous years have discovered, the media publicity and credibility from receiving such a highly respected Award can translate directly into great new business opportunities.

Sponsors

The Namibia Economist proudly acknowledges the following organisations for their generous support of the Namibian Businesswoman’s Awards programme.
Bank Windhoek and the NCCI.

2024/25 Entry Questions: The what, how and when?

Participating in the Namibian Businesswoman’s Awards starts with a nomination. Either others who know and admire you nominate you, or you took the plunge and nominate yourself.
Once nominated, to officially be part of the Awards programme, nominees need to submit a completed entry form.
Before starting the entry form, nominees should check the eligibility criteria.

Any questions?

If you have a question about the 2024/25 Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards, please phone 061-221925 or 081 128 3225 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Format

• Completed Entry form
• Answers to the entry questions
• A brief resume/summary profile which outlines, in no more than one page, your career appointments and tenures to date for use in presentation events, promotional activities and media releases
• A photograph of yourself for publication purposes.

You may also include additional information that you believe is significant, relevant and supports your candidacy. (Please provide copies only as your submission cannot be returned.) Your entire submission – that means your answers to the entry questions, resume/summary profile, and any additional material – must all be presented on A4-size paper, printed on one side only and bound.

Make five exact duplicates of your submission (each copy must include all your answers, plus your resume/summary profile, additional information and entry form) and deliver these to:

Namibian Businesswoman Awards:
Office of the Namibia Economist
7 Schuster Street, Windhoek

You must retain the original of your submission for your own records, as the five copies we receive will be destroyed and not returned to you when the Awards conclude. For this reason, please do not include the originals of any supporting material, such as press clippings or certificates, etc.

Eligibility

• If you are a woman who is a Namibian Citizen or has resident status and is living in Namibia.
• You are NOT an employee of the Namibia Economist, a judge or a sponsor of the Awards.
• You were NOT a category winner of the Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards in 2017 or 2019.
• You have NOT been involved in the Awards judging process in 2017 or 2019.
• The Namibia Economist or any other sponsor of the Awards reasonably decides that you will not be able to represent or promote the Awards.

The eligibility for the 2024/25 Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards for each category is:

Business Owner Award
Owners with a 50 per cent share or more in a business with responsibility for key management decision-making.

Private and Corporate Sector Award
Employees in the private and corporate sectors, or owners with less than a 50 per cent share of a business.

Community and Government Award
Employees of government departments, statutory bodies and not-for-profit organisations.

Young Businesswoman Award
If you are aged 30 years or under as at 4 June 2024 and meet any of the criteria in the first three categories. You will need to tick the appropriate box on the Entry Form and provide your date of birth if you wish to enter this Award.

Judging Process

Judges in the Namibia Businesswomen’s Awards are appointed and co-ordinated by an independent organisation with no affiliation to the Namibia Economist. Each individual judge is an eminent business professional from a relevant field, with the overall composition of each judging panel tailored to ensure each candidate in each category receives a balanced and thorough evaluation.

Judging are based initially on the entry submission, with the judges’ assessment based on personal insights, ideas, experiences and achievements across the key criteria detailed in the Entry Questions and Eligibility section of the entry form.

Short-listed candidates are interviewed. Once all submissions have been evaluated, the judges short-list the most outstanding candidates for each category. Short-listed finalists are notified and invited to attend a virtual panel interview. Category winners become national finalists in their categories, eligible to be named the 2024 Namibian Businesswoman of the Year.

All category winners travel to Windhoek for the final phase of judging, which is a panel interview.

Judges’ Observations

The 2019 Namibian Businesswomen’s Awards continued to attract some of Namibia’s most inspirational business women from a wide range of organisations, locations, backgrounds and experiences.

Although there was no single element that set winners apart and no simple formula for success, judges commented on a number of characteristics that emerged as more common across many of the winners:

• Their passion and commitment to their chosen fields of endeavour
• Demonstrated leadership and highly competent
• Vision, integrity, self-awareness and balance
• High levels of energy framed by personal discipline, organisation and focus
• A support structure that enabled them to pursue and achieve their goals

While significant achievement in business and the broader community was the most visible outcome of their success, less so was the positive role model these women have and will be to others in business (women and men) and the broader community.

Judges noted entrant achievements continue to impress, their stories continue to inspire and each year, the selection becomes even more difficult.