The Chief executive officer of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), Nangula Uaandja, says Namibia is the land of many and endless opportunities and is ready
to welcome numerous investments.
Addressing concerns that Namibia has a small market due to its small population, Uaandja told potential investors that investing in Namibia is an export play.
“If you come to Namibia, we would like you to ensure that you are producing for the Namibian market, as well as considering export, which is very important,” she said.
Uaandja was marketing the country at the four-day US-Africa Business 2023 Summit in Gaborone, Botswana on Thursday last week.
A high-level delegation led by Vice President Nangolo Mbumba represented Namibia at the summit to highlight investment opportunities in the energy and other priority sectors including mining, tourism and agriculture. The summit ended on Friday. Uaandja noted that the Namibian government works tirelessly to ensure the country has trade agreements in place.
Explaining why the country should be the investment destination of choice, Uaandja said Namibia has advanced infrastructure, political stability, liberty, is governed on the rule of law, and has an accessible workforce, to mention a few.
Delivering the keynote address, Mbumba said the main objective for Namibia is to leverage the existing capital-intensive industries to set the basis for productive diversification towards industries that can employ more people with higher capabilities and jump-start the country’s economy. He added that Namibia’s energy sector has seen considerable advancements with recent discoveries of vast oil and gas reserves by international companies TotalEnergies and Shell, and this ushered a new dawn for the country.
Furthermore, Mbumba expressed confidence that once fully appraised and eventually developed, the new discoveries will contribute meaningfully to the economy and will form a cornerstone in the strategy to alleviate unemployment and income inequality in Namibia. He insisted the oil discoveries have also opened up vast opportunities for investments and value chains that wait to be exploited.
“I emphasise the Namibian government’s unwavering commitment to creating a conducive environment for business. We are doing this by removing legal or administrative impediments, and ensuring that our trade and investment landscape remains fit for purpose. “You are also guaranteed peace and political stability, freedom to expatriate funds, and good governance,” Mbumba assured.
Two months ago, Uaandja said Namibia had secured about N$161 billion worth of investment opportunities as at March 2023 with the potential to create more jobs.
“Namibia has a drastic pipeline, signifying that the country has been heard by world players. Delegations that have been visiting our offices have increased drastically, and are coming from all over the world. We have facilitated 46 delegations,” she said during a media briefing at the time.
Uaandja said the new projects that are now operational are worth about N$2.8 billion, while funding from investors who are yet to make their decisions for the flow of capital to commence currently stands at N$24.1 billion.
The third stage, investors who have decided to invest and are now preparing all necessities and getting procedures in place to kick-start their projects, amount to N$38.8 billion. Then, the final stage, known as the lead stage, where investors inquire about final investment decisions, stands at N$95.3 billion. –mndjavera@nepc.com.na