Says attracting investment key to solving unemployment crisis
Business Reporter
NAMIBIA took centre stage in New York last week, where the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) conducted a series of investment promotion activities on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which ended on 26 September 2023.
Catherine Shipushu, Senior Manager: Marketing, Branding, and Communications at the NIPDB, said that while the Namibian economy recorded positive growth over the past two years, with a 4.2% growth rate in 2022, foreign and domestic investments remain the most viable levers that Namibia can pull to bring about sustainable economic growth and quality employment creation.
She further stated that following the collective efforts of public and private sector stakeholders, Namibia is slowly reaping the results of persistent and deliberate investment promotion activities. “This is evidenced by data released by the Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Performance Index, which measures FDI attracted in proportion to a country’s economy size. Namibia ranked number one in Africa and 13th globally in 2022. The value proposition of events such as the UNGA is their convening power of bringing together high-profile global leaders and decision-makers in one space, providing a unique platform for strategic information dissemination, addressing misconceptions about Namibia, and building investor confidence through interventions such as investor meetings and investment summits,” Shipushu said.
Also in attendance was the Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, who was the keynote speaker at the event, providing a detailed overview of the mining and energy landscape in Namibia.
On her part, NIPDB CEO Nangula Uaandja provided in-depth information on the investment opportunities while showcasing Namibia’s unique opportunities and comparative advantages as an investment destination.
Amplifying Namibia’s ambitions to become the sustainable energy capital of Africa, Uaandja highlighted that due to its unparalleled wind and solar resources, Namibia is one of five countries in the world with the potential to produce Green Hydrogen at competitive rates.
She added that mining remains a strategic growth sector for Namibia, with significant contributions to the GDP, taxation, and foreign earnings. “In 2022, the mining sector accounted for 11.1% of the GDP. Further investment in this sector is thus central to growing the economy. It is for this reason that the NIPDB used the opportunity to invite investors and funders to form partnerships, joint ventures, or strategic alliances with Namibian Exclusive Prospecting Licences (EPL) owners to develop their projects and mining operations,” Uaandja said.
She concluded that the potential impact of a large number of EPLs being developed is key to enabling the country to develop its mining project pipeline and prepare these projects for larger investments in the future. Uaandja stressed that systematically developing these rights will translate into creating more jobs in the sector and the wider economy, adding that there are currently just over 700 EPL and Mining Claims owners in Namibia.
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