The Embassy of Finland, together with the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and Finnpartnership, has scheduled a Doing Business with Finland Seminar on 21 February in Windhoek. The event brings together companies and other relevant stakeholders from Finland and Namibia to network and provide opportunities to create joint business ventures. The focus sectors are circular economy, renewable energy and green transition, including related education and training solutions.
Currently, the overconsumption of natural resources, both fossil and renewable ones, aggravates the climate and ecological crisis globally. The aim of the seminar is to create cooperation and find solutions in areas contributing to climate change mitigation, hence the focus sectors.
Finland is a high-tech country that aims to be a world leader in green hydrogen and circular economies, emission-free energy systems and other climate and environmental solutions.
It also seeks to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the transition to fossil-free transport and heating. The event will provide an excellent opportunity for Finnish and Namibian companies to explore possibilities for cooperation and joint ventures in these areas.
“The global challenges require strong collaboration between nations and businesses. Finland and Namibia already have a long history of friendship. This provides a solid base for Finnish-Namibian business cooperation related to green transition and circular economy. We want to support this development,” stated Finland ambassador Leena Viljanen.
“The Namibian business environment draws strength from a young population, abundant natural resources, social stability, and well-functioning infrastructure. Namibia´s ambitious plans to become a leading actor in global green hydrogen production, as well as in circular economy in Africa will require investments, information sharing and improved processes. For the Namibian stakeholders, the seminar will provide an opportunity to expand their business and find international partners,” Charity Mwiya, the NCCI CEO said.
She said Finland is an attractive business hub as the country is globally renowned for its expertise in specific sectors and has been ranked among the top countries in the world in green economy.
“The value of people-to-people contact for our bilateral relations can never be underestimated. This seminar will provide Namibian businesses in the respective sectors an opportunity to tap into Finnish expertise, and create linkages and possible business partnerships. The NCCI remains committed to working with private-sector businesses around the global market to create opportunities and foster meaningful relationships between its members and incoming missions,” Mwiya added.
The seminar is expected to also introduce Finnpartnership and its services available to the Finnish-Namibian joint business ventures. Finnpartnership is a business partnership programme financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.