Tanja Bause
20 April 2011
NICKY Katila is one of 72 war veterans who have received a grant from the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs to either start a small business or to expand their existing business.
Katila was born at Onamantenya near Ondangwa in northern Namibia in 1959. In 1977 he joined the liberation struggle and went to Lubango in Angola where he learned tailoring.
He was soon making PLAN uniforms and was then sent to Kenya to perfect his craft.
After he finished his training as a tailor he returned to Lubango and became a sewing instructor. He returned to Namibia and in 1992 started his own business called NM Katila Tailoring African and European Design in Windhoek.
Katila has four children and his firstborn son, Markus Angula, is in the business with him. He also employs four other people.
Together they create dresses, African shirts, trousers and other garments to the customer’s specifications and measurements.
“I really like to make African shirts using African cloth,” says Kathila.
He plans to expand his business and with the grant from the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs he wants to buy an embroidery machine so that he can stitch logos onto garments.
“With this machine I can do any company, school or business logo and embroider it onto fabric, be it a shirt, T-shirt or jacket,” he says.
The machine also allows him to stitch decorative patterns onto the African shirts and dresses, something which has been done by hand up to now.
Katila is in his shop at the Horseshoe Market in Katutura from Monday to Saturday and, if the workload is high, even on Sundays.
“Having your own business means a lot of hard work, long hours and lots of dedication,” said Katila.
His son Angula says he is learning a lot from his father but he also has a few creative ideas of his own which he pitches to his father.
“I tell my father my ideas and he listens, as he knows that many of our younger customers like my ideas,” said Angula.
Together they make a great team and with the new embroidery machine on its way, the business is sure to flourish and expand.
AllAfrica – All the Time