Main Supervisor: Dr. M. HAMUNYELA

ii Before Namibia’s independence in 1990, wealth distribution was highly skewed and only 5 % of the population enjoyed approximately 80 % of the country’s wealth (Government of the Republic of Namibia, 2004). Widespread poverty, high unemployment rates and a lack of access to basic services such as land, credit and livestock severely affected the majority of the population. The goal of Namibia’s Vision 2030 is to promote people’s quality of life by, inter alia, establishing grant schemes for income-generating activities and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities. The Kavango Region is the third highest funded region, yet it still has the highest incidence of poverty in Namibia. The overall aim of this study was to establish whether the income-generating grants from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) were sufficiently understood and whether they ameliorate