One of the key objectives of the Forum of German-Speaking Namibians, which was formed in April 2021, is to promote Namibia as an attractive business location and to, if necessary, act as mediator between local and foreign enterprises and institutions.

In this regard, the forum will host an open and solution-driven discussion on these issues tomorrow, Saturday, 20 September 2025. The discussion is scheduled from 08h30 to 15h00 at the Gemeindezentrum Foundation.

Namibia currently ranks 104th out of 190 economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business survey. The country scored 61 points on the ease of doing business index in 2020 and its average ranking between 2008 and 2020 was 91.7, with a low of 108 in 2016 and a high of 54 in 2008. Global economies are benchmarked on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is the worst and 100 is the best regulatory performance. The aim of the dialogue is to find solutions to propel Namibia’s economy forward, and it is expecting questions which will be addressed directly to public institutions, including various ministries, as well as the revenue agency and the Business Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa).

According to the forum, the Namibia Investment Promotion Development Board (NIPDB), as well as local analysts such as Rowland Brown and Robin Sherbourne, have already confirmed participation.

“We believe that the public and private sector need to have a public dialogue on how we can improve the ease of doing business in Namibia which is now referred to as the Business Ready (B-Ready) and what effects this may have on Namibia’s competitiveness, especially in the light of current and future increases in volumes of investments,” stated forum chairperson, Harald Hecht.

Other issues expected to be addressed include what can be done to unlock the full potential of local and international trade, and how the private sector and local businesses can lead Namibia’s development path.

“Please rest assured that the appropriate tonality in terms of fairness and mutual respect will be maintained throughout the day. We are convinced that the public and private sectors can move closer together in the interest of developing Namibia jointly forward towards our Vision 2030/NDP6,” Hecht added.