On the 25th of May 2022, The Economic Leadership Council of Namibia hosted its initiative at the Discover Namibia Intra Africa Trade Expo and Africa Business Summit in Swakopmund.
The event kicked off with the essentials of effective leadership which was covered by Fluksman Samuehl, the current CEO of the Luderitz Waterfront who is also a member of parliament at the National Council and a man who served in other various leadership capacities such as the area of infrastructure development and corporate management.
Samuehl started by highlighting the importance of leadership by stating that everything rises and falls on leadership as it requires full responsibility. He also pointed out what a leader needs to focus on in terms of the abilities of who they are leading. “As an effective leader you need to be on the outlook to understand, to embrace the ability, the creativity, the innovation of others”, Samuehl said.
In addition to that, he went on to saying that a leader goes beyond having a dream. As a leader, one needs to have a plan and be optimistic in order to achieve fruitful outcomes. When it comes to encountering challenges, Samuehl described leadership as “no smooth sailing, no walk in the park.” Rather, leadership is a position that calls for perseverance and determination. Some areas looked at were global happenings such as the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine which is a human act and the COVID-19 pandemic that had affected the supply of food. Such consequences of these heavily unpredictable situations were linked to leadership considering that they may need preparedness.
Samuehl called what is existing in Namibia a “leadership crisis”. “Most of the people really feel abandoned by their leaders.”, he said. Samuehl used the Firshrot confederates as an examples of those leaders. “There is endless infighting in our political terrain, in our traditional authorities, in our sports fraternity.” Samuehl listed.
The Namibia Investment Fund’s (NIF) areas of interests go beyond investment in start-up and SME’s, innovation and technology, agritech and manufacturing, capital (equity and fintech. From the financial support that the NIF provides and encourages, the organization aims to build and sustain businesses and projects from which individuals can garner benefits such as becoming great leaders.
Samuehl advised that one should climb the ladder because there are no shortcuts and that one should lead with integrity. The CEO of the Luderitz Waterfront pointed out ways in which one can acquire leadership, one of which being through following examples set by traditional leaders in Namibia. The NIF believes that Namibian business owners as well as individuals serve as backbones of their establishments and undertakings. Furthermore, the NIF does acknowledge that effective leadership is of great significance and wishes that individuals grasp the meaning of true leadership and use it to steer forward.
