Tackling empty investor promises

In a bid to ensure that investment pledges are realised, Namibia’s investment agency has said it will “do things differently”.Government has in recent years spent millions to court investors, a move which has secured billions in pledges - but little to nothing in reality.From the 2016 ‘Invest in Namibia’ drive where backers pledged investments exceeding N$3.5 billion to the 2019 High Economic Growth Summit where investors pledged over N$30 billion, only a small margin of pledges have seen the light of day.In its latest investment treasure hunt, government through the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) spent over N$20 million to take part in the Dubai Expo, where it initially targeted to secure 60 leads. It managed to land over 190 when the six-month expo ended last month. The board did not indicate the monetary value of the leads secured.But with Namibia not boasting the best track record when it comes to taking up projects punted at investment indabas, the board’s chief executive officer Nangula Uaandja knows the road ahead will not be a smooth one - if past performance counts for anything.“We will do things differently,” Uaandja said yesterday when asked what the board will do to ensure that investment pledges made at the Dubai Expo are realised.Broken promisesOf its catalogue showcased to investors, the High Economic Growth Summit team has only been able to secure investment in the Ongos Valley development project in Windhoek, with other ambitious projects failing to take off.An overview of the projects punted show that there has not been take up for investment in a N$16.5 billion modular refinery project, a N$1.1 billion biomass power plant proposed for Tsumeb, a N$1.2 billion investment in a conference centre in the guise of a public-private partnership project involving a private investor and government, and N$200 million for the development of a container terminal in Grootfontein involving a container and fuel depot with truck port.Prior to that, Namibia failed to get investors for various projects punted at the 2016 ‘Invest in Namibia’ conference, which included backing to the tune of N$350 million in its Sungate City: Mixed Property Development; a N$3.3 billion investment in a rebar manufacturing plant; N$21 million for a foundry project, and N$33.2 million for bitumen manufacturing.This amounts to about N$19 billion of the N$30 billion that had been pledged by reputable institutions.Fishing expeditionMakalani Fund manager Salomo Hei said as long as Namibia lacks a thriving domestic industry base, attracting investments will remain an uphill battle.“Investment is a targeted approach, not a fishing expedition. We must target specific sectors that are already at a certain level of production which can be expanded and linked to foreign direct investment [FDI]. In the absence of a targeted approach, we will continue having these investment conferences without tangible results,” he said.An economist by profession, Hei pointed out that “the absence of a manufacturing base is part of the reason why we fail to attract investors. We must build local industries which will make it easier to attract investment”.He added: “We have good examples of Namib Mills and Namibia Breweries. It is easier to go out and look for investors when industries are thriving already”.Hei also urged decision-makers to harness areas in which Namibia enjoys competitive advantages instead of going for areas where it has to compete with bigger players.“One of our largest FDI drivers is the mining sector; those are the areas we should target. Our dates and grapes have also been a success story, so we should look for investors in order to open up new markets for those products.“There is an inability to understand our own economy in terms of where our competitive advantage lies. A market like ours cannot compete with countries like South Africa for products that are similar, because they have a competitive advantage when it comes to market size,” he pointed out.Addressing challenges“We are aware of all the challenges and constraints facing investors daily and as a result are working around the clock to set up NIPDB in the most impactful and output-orientated state so as to create an efficient and effective system to facilitate investment and promote micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise development work,” the board said.In a written response to Namibian Sun, it added that during its first year in office, the focus was premised on identifying constraints in the investment climate.“It is critical that the board has a good understanding of the constraints in the economy which are largely policy-related, and to be able to devise strategies to eliminate them where and how possible. “We are therefore working with our partners in the various government offices, ministries and agencies to address the most binding constraints in the investment environment,” the board noted.In addition, the NIPDB said: “We are targeting specific sectors that complement current economic activities”.It also indicated that it has identified priority sectors ranging from renewable energy and food to chemical and basic materials, transportation and logistics, amongst others, that will attract investment into the country.

Tackling empty investor promises

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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Tackling empty investor promises

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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