Realising his potential
Peter Nakuumba is a true testament of making sacrifices and following your dreams.
Peter Nakuumba is an entrepreneur, youth leader and a motivational speaker. For most of his life the Oshakati-born entrepreneur was not sure what he wanted to do with his life.
He matriculated from Windhoek High School in 2012. In 2013 he initially wanted to study law but says it was not something that he envisioned for himself but something that his mother wanted him to study. “I made a bold move and went against my mother's wish for me to study law because I always felt that it wasn't something I wanted to study. I decided to study economics but that was also something I thought I was passionate about at the time,” he shares.
He studied economics at the University of Namibia for two years and then dropped out to focus on running his own business. “I had nothing against education but I decided to stop pursuing that part of my life but I had always struggled with the confines set by education and then I decided to focus on other aspects of my life,” he says.
In 2015, after two years of studying at Unam, he dropped out and looked for a job at a local bank to get himself acquainted with the business and corporate world before he ventured into own businesses. “I wanted to learn a lot about how the business industry worked and my time at the local bank before I left was an opportunity for me to grow and prepare myself for the decision I was going to make in life,” he says. The entrepreneur says many youth do not get to realise their full potential because they fear that they would not be successful.
“Many young people live with many people who groom them who do not believe enough in themselves. We fear going against society's norms to follow our dreams. Many young people are unhappy because they studying or working in areas they did not choose themselves but because they wanted to please their parents,” he says.
Today he owns a construction company called Jepé Construction, he is a business consultant and a motivational speaker.
Helping the youth
In 2016 he founded a youth organisation called Ignite Namibia as a means to help other young people realise their own career goals. “I want to help as many young people as possible. We need to guide one another and push each other in all the right directions in life. We need position young people in areas that would benefit them,” he says. He was recently involved in a Ted Talk, an international organisation for public and motivational speaking, and says that was one of his career milestones. Thaddeus Shigweda, a mentor and business partner of Nakuumba, says he is a hard worker and always determined to achieve all the goals he sets for himself. “He has a really bright future ahead of him. Nakuumba is really encouraging and always wants to see people around him do well,” he says. Another of Nakuumba's associates is Bernadette Iita from Ignite Namibia, who says he has committed himself towards helping many other young people. “He always celebrates people's achievements and he is someone who believes in people and he sees the potential in every young person that he interacts with.
He is a good leader who knows how to motivate others and get the best out of them,” she says.
SHONA NGAVA
He matriculated from Windhoek High School in 2012. In 2013 he initially wanted to study law but says it was not something that he envisioned for himself but something that his mother wanted him to study. “I made a bold move and went against my mother's wish for me to study law because I always felt that it wasn't something I wanted to study. I decided to study economics but that was also something I thought I was passionate about at the time,” he shares.
He studied economics at the University of Namibia for two years and then dropped out to focus on running his own business. “I had nothing against education but I decided to stop pursuing that part of my life but I had always struggled with the confines set by education and then I decided to focus on other aspects of my life,” he says.
In 2015, after two years of studying at Unam, he dropped out and looked for a job at a local bank to get himself acquainted with the business and corporate world before he ventured into own businesses. “I wanted to learn a lot about how the business industry worked and my time at the local bank before I left was an opportunity for me to grow and prepare myself for the decision I was going to make in life,” he says. The entrepreneur says many youth do not get to realise their full potential because they fear that they would not be successful.
“Many young people live with many people who groom them who do not believe enough in themselves. We fear going against society's norms to follow our dreams. Many young people are unhappy because they studying or working in areas they did not choose themselves but because they wanted to please their parents,” he says.
Today he owns a construction company called Jepé Construction, he is a business consultant and a motivational speaker.
Helping the youth
In 2016 he founded a youth organisation called Ignite Namibia as a means to help other young people realise their own career goals. “I want to help as many young people as possible. We need to guide one another and push each other in all the right directions in life. We need position young people in areas that would benefit them,” he says. He was recently involved in a Ted Talk, an international organisation for public and motivational speaking, and says that was one of his career milestones. Thaddeus Shigweda, a mentor and business partner of Nakuumba, says he is a hard worker and always determined to achieve all the goals he sets for himself. “He has a really bright future ahead of him. Nakuumba is really encouraging and always wants to see people around him do well,” he says. Another of Nakuumba's associates is Bernadette Iita from Ignite Namibia, who says he has committed himself towards helping many other young people. “He always celebrates people's achievements and he is someone who believes in people and he sees the potential in every young person that he interacts with.
He is a good leader who knows how to motivate others and get the best out of them,” she says.
SHONA NGAVA
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