WINDHOEK – The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has joined hands with the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) to promote the fund’s Unlisted Investment Policy. The fund will be looking to invest in venture capital, management buyouts, energy infrastructure, property and procurement funding.
According to GIPF’s general manager of communication and marketing Elvis Nashilongo, the directive comes from the GIPF Board of Directors who wants the Unlisted Investment Policy to benefit businesses across the country.
Since the implementation of the policy the GIPF has made significant investments in the local economy. In fact, as at the end of June this year the fund committed N$2.3 billion towards its Unlisted Investment Portfolio of which about N$680 million has already been injected into projects country-wide.
The projects include an investment of N$148 million into the Procurement Fund that is a medium through which GIPF ensures the provision of short-term working capital and asset backed financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who have contracts to render services to reputable entities.
The fund has also invested just over N$50 million in renewable energy linked initiatives through the provision of credit financing to SMEs participating in this sector. In addition, the fund has invested more than N$479 million in immovable properties with long-term income and growth potential. These include the Gwashamba Property Development in Ondangwa, the Grove Mall in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo Town Square as well as a number of residential and housing projects throughout the country.
The GIPF and the NCCI have invited the country’s business community to attend an UIP open day, which will take place at the Hilton Hotel on Monday, September 23. “It is our belief that through the Unlisted Investment Policy, GIPF complies with Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act that requires our institution to invest funds in the local economy and reduce the net impact of capital flight out of the domestic economy. Despite this breakthrough we remain of the view that there is lack of awareness about our UIP among Namibian entrepreneurs. This concern impedes our objective to cast our net widely and ensure broad-based participation from the Namibian business fraternity”, explained Nashilongo.
By Edgar Brandt