Chairperson of the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) board Riundja Kaakunga said it has become evident that a revision of the authority’s corporate strategy of 2017-2022 is required. Kaakunga feels the revision is necessary, given the significantly reduced domestic economic activity.
In BIPA’s 2018/19 annual report that was recently tabled in parliament, Kaakunga noted the economic slowdown resulted in government being compelled to implement stringent austerity measures with the consequence that funding to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) was significantly reduced.
“Despite the challenges, it is encouraging that the financial situation of the authority remains stable due to our disciplined approach to capital allocation,” Kaakunga explained. This, he said, is evident from the fact the authority’s core revenues increased by 62% compared to the financial year 2017/2018, while the total asset base grew by 1.8%, as well as property, plant and equipment (PPE) that grew by 15.7%. It is significant to mention that despite a drastic reduction in government funding of 75.7% during the year, BIPA was able to break even.
Furthermore, he indicated that during the period under review, the institution’s activities were governed by the corporate strategic goals of ensuring financial sustainability, promoting stakeholder relations, facilitating operational excellence and developing human capital.
“We are proud that in line with the corporate level assessment outcome, we exceeded the target benchmark of 4/5 and achieved a 70% success rate of strategic targets implemented,” said Kaakunga.
Furthermore, Selma Ambunda, former acting BIPA CEO, highlighted the contribution of intellectual property rights (IPR) in economic contributions. Ambunda said the value of intellectual property in driving economic growth is immense and holds great promise – and yet, it is not well understood.
“IP plays an important role in an increasingly broad range of areas, ranging from the internet to healthcare to all aspects of science and technology, literature and the arts. We are encouraged that the Namibian government has identified that IPR can catalyse economic growth through the creation of distinctive and unique value in products and services,” she outlined.
Ambunda also explained that competitiveness is an essential element for survival in the global village and IP protection is a tool through which competitive advantage is enhanced, adding that improved knowledge of IP is vital to BIPA’s operations and Namibia’s prosperity. She also stated that business registrations doubled the number of transactions that were processed in this financial period under review.
“This is indicative of Namibia’s resilient economy and underscores the need for BIPA to enhance its processes and systems through technology,” said Ambunda.