by Ndalimpinga Iita
WINDHOEK, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- As Namibians marked Valentine's Day on Friday, young entrepreneurs in Namibia's capital Windhoek maximized on demand for themed and packaged gifts to boost proceeds.
As Valentine's Day fever peaks in the country, Bianca Shilongo, a 25 years old entrepreneur in Windhoek decided to sell gift packages themed in Valentine's colours -- red, black and white.
The gifts are offered in regular, standard and premium packages, priced between 250 Namibian dollars (16 U.S. dollars) to 480 dollars.
"The standard package consists of cupcakes I baked, a card, champagne and flowers," Shilongo said Friday.
According to Shilongo, she marketed the products on offer on her social media pages, through word-of-mouth and display in public places.
This earned the trader good money.
"The response has been good. For the day's orders, I generated about 6,500 Namibian dollars. This is triple of earnings made on the everyday or ordinary orders," she added.
She is not the only one.
Kaleni Elias, an administration graduate runs a small business to keep him going while he secures a permanent job.
Amid the valentine's peak, he decided to sell flowers and other gifts in the city centre.
According to Elias, the prices for flowers increases around this time, hence the fair profits.
"I sourced the flowers from the local China town, and I then uniquely re-arrange them to attract new clients," he said.
The flowers are also packaged with either a teddy bear, chocolate or other accessories to offer diverse choices to clients.
"I set up a table in the city centre from where I sold the products befitting the day dynamics. Since Tuesday, I have made a profit of 600 U.S. dollars," he added.
Some city dwellers, however, are looking to other means such as dinners or lunch to treat their loved-ones while the more benevolent are hosting social events to delve into the topics of love.
"I booked a table for me and my companion for a dinner date," said Elvis Andre, a resident of Windhoek.
Restaurant have since made provision for those who wish to immerse in cuisine on the day of love.
Local Pepata restaurant is hosting Valentine's Day dinner. The buffet dinner is costed at 16 U.S. dollars and includes a welcoming champagne glass as a treat.
Meanwhile, locals and community activists are also hosting Valentine's dialogue, seen as a demonstration of their love and responsibility towards society.
The event hosted under the topic "What are we missing?" aims to engage and probe further into the history of love and its manifestation in the current, said organiser, Otto Kapuka.
The event features experts, including a psychologist, social activist, elderly, artist and local leaders to tackle the topic from various perspectives and angles.
In the interim, corporate companies such as the Windhoek municipality urged city dwellers to gift their loved ones by settling outstanding municipal bills as a sign of love.
"Show your family some love and settle a municipal account this valentine's day," reads the promotional post on social media.
Despite all other efforts, for young entrepreneurs like Shilongo and Elias, Valentine's Day accorded them an opportunity to cash in on the "love fever" in order to get by- in the face of high unemployment.
Records by the Namibia Statistics Agency reveal that the unemployment rate of Namibians between the ages of 15 and 34 years increased from 43.4 percent recorded in 2016 to 46.1 percent by the end of 2018.
