Last week, Platonic Academy participated in this year’s Old Mutual Foundation Youth Indaba 2025. This significant event, themed “Closing the Gap Between Education and Skills Development” took place on March 14th, 2025, and brought together experts from government, industry, education, and entrepreneurship to discuss solutions to Namibia’s education and employment challenges.
As part of Platonic Academy’s contribution, CEO and Co-Founder of Platonic Academy Frank Mungunda provided insights into the disconnect between education and industry needs in Namibia, highlighting the importance of fostering practical skills development, industry-aligned curricula, and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people.
The discussion focused on how businesses and policymakers can collaborate to equip young professionals with the necessary competencies to thrive in a rapidly evolving job market. Mungunda added on the importance of aligning education with skills development and Platonic Academy’s role in bridging this gap” Education is ultimately an elasticity of the mind. I should be equipped enough to adapt to this changing world and adapt to technology,” he said.
Other speakers at the event also shared their perspectives on addressing Namibia’s education-to-employment gap, such as Oscar Capelao, Deputy Executive Director, Department of Economic Policy at The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, who spoke about incentives work, that Namibia needs to roll out. “Our day job is ensuring that we keep our licensing to trade to the rest of the world. We need to compile specific rules and remain aligned. Therefore, domestically, there are professions where things are working perfectly, such as law and medicine. What can we learn well from those already doing things well, and how can other professions learn? From a policy perspective, asset managers, firms, and researchers have popped up and created a new field. These are managed in a country that didn’t exist thirty years ago, and finally, they being managed by Namibians. We need to partner with the private sector.
Eben Basson, Head of Data and Digital Transformation at Old Mutual Namibia highlighted incentives for the public and private sectors to take on interns. He applauded the government for tax incentives that assist companies in adopting interns. “I encourage organizations to take on interns to allow that gap to be filled from varsity to the workforce. We rely on them continuing where we left off to ensure that we aid them in gaining that work experience,” he noted.
Savannah Pereira, Visual Communications and Brand Strategist at Ogilvy Namibia, shed some light on her advocacy to include all. “As a society, we need to understand that neurodiverse brains are not disadvantaged, but it’s us speaking a different language. You need to understand how to speak and communicate with their language. We need to empower our society to which everyone is entitled,” she added.
Jesaya Hano-Oshike, Co-Founder and Director – of Basecamp Business Incubator, emphasized from a private perspective what initiatives are working. “Namibia is a complex country in which to create jobs because of the high unemployment rate amongst the youth. For us to get to the point where things work, we need to get the tax right. Ease to get investors into the country to invest. The government has created an environment to foster that, which is a great milestone; however, what is there to incentivize a start-up?
Platonic Academy remains committed to empowering young Namibians through education, research, and skills training. By participating in high-level discussions such as the Old Mutual Foundation Youth Indaba, we reaffirm our dedication to creating a workforce that is prepared to meet industry demands and drive economic growth.
Mungunda, re-iterated their involvement in such projects, mentioning the alignment of objectives. At Platonic Academy, we are always willing to support such initiatives and were fortunate to bring along over twenty learners to experience these critical conversations. We were also able to exhibit at this event, allowing our services to be known by the target market and to make use of our services to aid learners in the fields of science, physics, and mathematics. We heard the alarming pass rate of our grade 12 pupils that is not paring up to the expectation, and therefore, we urge parents and learners to get extra support to ensure that we groom the next workforce in Namibia.
Platonic Academy’s commitment to skills development and collaboration with key stakeholders is critical, and Mungunda added his experience at the, Namibia Green Hydrogen Safety and Power-to-X (PtX) Conference and Tour 2025, he hosted last week.