Windhoek
A group of potential investors from Invest Africa paid a courtesy call on President Hage Geingob yesterday and expressed interest in an array of industries, ranging from solar power to social housing.
The visiting delegation was led by Mark Simmonds, who until recently was the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibility for Africa and International Energy. Simmonds is known for driving and facilitating investment into Africa across a range of key economic sectors, including hydrocarbons, financial services, infrastructure, energy and agriculture.
London-based Invest Africa is a global private members club with a multi-service platform for access and investment into Africa. It was founded in 2013 as a platform for business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs to gain insight and exposure to information about and opportunities in Africa.
Today Invest Africa is a network of decision-makers at top global organisations, fund managers, private investors, family offices, entrepreneurs, and policy makers, all with a common interest in Africa.
Described as an elite group of investors, membership of Invest Africa is granted on an invitation only basis.
During the meeting with President Geingob, which included ministers and top government officials, Simmonds said his delegation is extremely impressed with Namibia’s economic and political stability. “We want to invest in Namibia to create jobs, but also to use Namibia as a platform to invest elsewhere in the region and the continent,” he said.
Describing the Namibian environment as conducive for investors, Simmonds said Africa’s time has come.
“If you provide an environment for investment we will come here before we go somewhere else,” he noted, adding that, “Namibia has unique opportunities for companies and can be a springboard for investment into the rest of Africa.”