Vice President (VP) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged Namibian businesspeople to be prepared to play their role in ensuring the country reaps the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area, bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union, and eight regional economic communities.
The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people, and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion.
Speaking at a gala dinner late last week, she said Namibia has invested a lot into the African agreement to promote free trade and movement of goods and services across the continent.
“This agreement is an important instrument that Africa, as a continent, has adopted to drive economic development. It has the potential to foster industrialisation, infrastructure development, intra-Africa trade and the emergence of new industries across the continent,” she said while addressing the 15th annual gala dinner of the Indigenous People’s Business Forum (IPBF).
IPBF was established in 2006, and is a membership-based organisation.
The organisation penned an agreement with government through the trade ministry, aimed at fostering and enabling the involvement of businesses owned by indigenous Namibians.
President of the IPBF Albin Ilovu said the gala dinner provided an opportunity for the government to outline its expectations and interventions for the emerging business sector.
The IPBF’s mandate outlines that it will cooperate with government to promote and advance the interests of the private sector, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as entrepreneurship.
The IPBF has also been tasked with hosting constructive forums for information dissemination, while building the technical and trade capacity of Namibia to ensure competitiveness in local and international markets.
“This will be accompanied by ensuring participation in local, regional and international trade. Specifically, when Namibian products are to be expedited, the IPBF is expected to conduct regular research on the SME sector, with a focus on marketing and the supply of inputs for consumer goods. This work includes promoting the diversification of SMEs from retail to manufacturing, and ultimately to value-addition,” he noted.
He added that unforeseen changes within the IPBF and the trade ministry in the subsequent years have led to a cooling of the relationship between the government and the organisation.
The cessation of government funding had a significant impact on the organisation, and led to the departure of some members, as the body was unable to meet their needs and fulfil its mandate.
He added that the IPBF has been actively involved in dialogue with government, and has contributed to the development of various policies, including the Growth at Home Strategy, and the Investment Bill.
Touching on the forum’s plans, he said they are planning to establish an incubation hub for women and youth to be mentored to become successful entrepreneurs.
Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasised that the forum needs to focus on fostering technical and trade capacity-building for Namibian entrepreneurs to enable them to become competitive in the domestic, regional and international markets.
“Government continues to promote the growth of our SMEs, who are the engine of economic growth, and contribute to employment-creation and the overall socio-economic development of our country. Therefore, the relationship between the IPBF and the government should be strengthened,” said the VP.
Statistics show that the domestic SME sector employs about 60 000 people and about 160 000 part-time employees, representing one-third of Namibia’s workforce.
She said every effort must be directed towards placing Namibia on a new trajectory, and ensuring there is inclusive growth and sustainable employment-creation. -mndjavera@nepc.com.na