WINDHOEK – The 2014 Namibian Business and Investment Climate Survey (NamBiC) results have identified access to finance, competition and demand, skills, access to land and bureaucracy as the five most challenging aspects of doing business in Namibia.
The 2014 survey reports on the perceptions and opinions of close to 600 businesses operating in Namibia, including those that are not members of the NCCI and the Namibian Manufacturers Association (NMA). Respondents to the survey represent both formal and informal businesses, covering all economic sectors throughout the country. Interestingly, respondents also indicated that since the last survey overall ratings of the investment climate have improved in the areas of crime, access to finance and tax rates.
Prime Minister, Dr Hage Geingob, launched the report last week, which the Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Tarah Shaanika, said is complementary to the existing business climate barometers such as the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business Report’ and the ‘Global Competitiveness Report’ of the World Economic Forum. “By working through the identified business challenges, NCCI endeavours to ultimately impact Namibia’s ranking on the global competitiveness indexes, as a competitive economy to do business with in Africa. Such reforms would help to boost our national performance and this is the strategy which has been adopted by the NCCI leadership going forward,” said Shaanika.
NamBIC is a product of the partnership between the NCCI, the NMA, the Institute for Public Policy Research, with the support of GIZ on behalf of the German government. The study has been undertaken to provide insight to policy-makers and regulators on the most pertinent matters affecting the business environment in Namibia. The findings also inform the advocacy agendas of both the NCCI and NMA. To mitigate the constraints experienced by businesses, the report recommends that the availability of serviced land must be addressed, and that the geographical presence of development finance institutions be improved. The report further states that access to finance is more problematic for small and micro businesses and “appears to be compounded by skills deficiencies, especially managerial challenges, stiff and sometimes even unfair competition and low demand for goods and services.” In his keynote address Geingob said he appreciated the optimistic outlook of the report, compared to a slightly more cynical 2013 outlook. The Prime Minister also welcomed more proactive dialogue to be initiated between bureaucrats, the private sector and labour unions, so as to work together to resolve those highlighted, prohibitive factors.
By Edgar Brandt