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To : Mr Timo ShihepoJournalist: The Namibian Newspaper
Date : Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Dear Mr Shihepo,
Kindly receive the responses to the questions posed to the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) on Sunday, 16 March 2025.
Questions:
The information we have gathered indicates that the NIPDB spent approximately N$7 million on travel in 2024, with the CEO, Nangula Uaandja, receiving N$1.5 million of this amount. Additionally, it is reported that the NIPDB spent N$17 million on promotional events and undertook 80 foreign trips over a period of 18 months. Given these figures, could you kindly provide clarification on the following points:
Can you confirm the total amount spent by the NIPDB on travel in 2024, including the N$1.5 million allocated to the CEO, and provide a breakdown of this expenditure?
Could you elaborate on the nature and purpose of the 80 foreign trips taken by NIPDB officials in the past 18 months? Were these trips essential to the strategic objectives of the NIPDB, and if so, how?
The NIPDB reportedly spent N$17 million on promotional events. Could you provide more details on the events that were organised, their specific objectives, and how these expenditures align with the NIPDB’s overall mission?
Is the NIPDB’s spending on travel, events, and foreign trips consistent with the organization’s budget and strategic priorities, or do you foresee any changes in this regard in the future?
NIPDB Response:
Based on the questions above, kindly receive our response as follows:
NIPDB Mandate:
The NIPDB was established to support the government efforts to amongst others drive the country’s diversification strategy and inclusive private sector led economic growth, through leveraging investments by local and foreign nationals as well as coordinating MSME activities across all the levers of the economy.
Specifically, the NIPDB is mandated to promote and facilitate investment into Namibia (by local and foreign nationals) with the objective of fostering economic growth, creating employment and driving industrialisation. This involves active engagement with international investors, participation in strategic global investment forums, organising and leading delegations of Namibian businesses to international investment meetings, trade fairs and expos and the promotion of Namibia’s value proposition across priority sectors.
In order to effectively promote Namibia as an investment destination and to attract the desired investors, it is critical for the country to maintain a consistent, persistent presence (as articulated by one of our leaders) in key markets. For that reason, investment promotion is by nature an ongoing process that can take up to three years of sustained engagement with potential investors before a final investment decision is made (please refer to the image below for an illustration of this process). To accelerate this process, it is essential that engagements take place at the appropriate level of seniority. Investors commit to engaging with Namibia through their senior officials, and there is a clear expectation for us to reciprocate at the same level. Ensuring high-level participation also strengthens credibility, builds trust, and facilitates meaningful discussions that could expedite investment decisions.
NIPDB officials undertake various missions aligned with key strategic goals, including enhancing Namibia’s brand awareness and supporting government efforts to strengthen economic diplomacy. In addition, we conduct targeted missions to engage both existing and potential strategically selected investors, as well as organize investment summits to promote Namibia and Namibian-made products in key markets. These missions play a critical role in identifying and unlocking investment and export opportunities.
Since our establishment, NIPDB officials have attended and coordinated Namibia’s participation at several key events including the United Nations General Assembly, Africa Energy Week, where we supported the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the annual COP editions since COP26 in Glasgow. We also participated in various Country X-Africa Summit/Business Forums (such as Brazil, EU, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, US) as well as PDAC in Canada and Africa Down Under in Australia – two major source markets for investments in mining, with most of the mining exploration projects in Namibia originating from Canadian or Australian companies. During the last financial year, the NIPDB also hosted investment summits in strategic locations including but not limited to Angola, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa and UAE. These destinations were strategically selected based on their alignment with Namibia’s priority sectors and/or strategic diplomatic relationship, ensuring targeted and impactful engagements.
During the 2024 financial year, NIPDB officials (including our Investment and Export Promotion Attaches posted in 5 international locations) attended approximately 80 foreign, virtual and local events to engage with investors, showcase Namibia’s investment potential and opportunities, while supporting Namibian businesses to access international markets. These events also included attending local expos and hosting events to support our MSMEs across various regions. A direct outcome of these efforts has been a significant increase in inbound business delegations visiting Namibia to explore investment opportunities. In the 2024 financial year, 44 such delegations were recorded, while the first three quarters of 2025 have already seen 71 visits. These reciprocal visits demonstrate that the potential investors our team previously engaged with are sufficiently interested in Namibia, to take the next step in exploring investment opportunities firsthand.
Our latest audited financial statements, as illustrated in the 2024 Annual Report, indicate that the NIPDB invested a total of N$21 million in local and international investment promotion activities, aimed at promoting Namibia as a preferred investment destination. This amount was allocated to setting up exhibition stands for Namibia, hosting investment promotion events, covering printing costs, producing promotional materials, advertising and promoting awareness of these events on various platforms, providing capacity building and market advisory support, paying event attendance fees, flight costs, accommodation as well as Subsistence and Travel (S+T). Our financial records for that year further indicate that the total funds paid in respect of S+T to all NIPDB officials, including the CEO and other executives, for local and international travel amounted to N$ 2.1 million. This represents 10% of the total events and investment promotions budget. While the CEO participates and usually leads Namibia’s delegations to a number of high profile and strategic events, she did not participate in most of the events indicated herewith, and was not paid amounts to the tune of N$1.5 million of the NIPDB S+T disbursement.
Tracking strategic impact:
The NIPDB remains fully committed to transparency, accountability, and ethical business practices. All investment promotion activities, including international missions and engagements, are conducted with the core principle of ensuring responsible stewardship of public resources.
As a public entity with finite resources to execute our mandate, the NIPDB tracks its investment promotion activities to ensure that they are driving measurable results, and demonstrates a tangible return on investment for Namibia.
To assess the return on investment on our promotional budget and effectiveness of our initiatives, we monitor five key metrics: enquiries, inbound business delegations, projects in our pipeline or those that are operationalised in Namibia, Foreign Direct Investment inflows, and employment created by FDI enterprises.
The NIPDB receives a wide range of trade and investment enquiries, some of which require detailed assessment. These enquiries are carefully evaluated, referring inbound trade-related ones to the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade. Viable enquiries are converted into leads and integrated into the investment pipeline. Since January 2024 to date, our team has recorded a total of 1,200 investment related enquiries.
The investment pipeline facilitated by NIPDB grew by 9% to N$ 175 billion during the 2024 financial year. The total value of projects that became operational in Namibia stood at N$2.9 billion, while a further N$ 24.68 billion worth of projects was recorded in deployed capital. It should be noted that not all investors that engage the NIPDB end up in the pipeline. Some of these investors find local partners with sufficient capacity on the ground to facilitate their activities in the country.
FDI inflows into Namibia have maintained uninterrupted positive growth from the first quarter of 2021 to date. According to data from the Bank of Namibia, net FDI inflows amounted to N$24.5 billion during the first three quarters of 2024, far surpassing the total of N$14.0 billion recorded from 2017 to 2022 combined. This growth is largely due to exploration investments in the extractive and hydrocarbons (oil and gas) sectors. It is also largely on the back of a positive economic outlook emanating from activities in Oil & Gas, GH2 as well as Critical Minerals, supported by the collective efforts of the government to promote the competitiveness of and the ease of doing business in Namibia leading to improved investor and private sector confidence.
Namibia has emerged as a dynamic investment destination, attracting significant interest from global investors across key sectors including energy (renewables, green hydrogen, oil, and gas), the food industry (agro-processing), transport and logistics, mining and adjacent industries and tourism. The country’s strategic location, stable political environment, and abundant natural resources make it an ideal hub for investment. Over the past four years, Namibia has seen an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), reaching a record N$48.2 billion in 2023 which is more than double the N$17.3 billion recorded in 2022. From 2021 to 2023, average FDI as a percentage of GDP was 12.10% and in 2023 it was 21% – which is aligned to economies like Singapore. Historically, in good economic years, Namibia’s FDI as a percentage of GDP was 7% on average.
Furthermore, while national employment figures have declined between 2018 and 2023 (as per NSA), employment by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) enterprises increased between 2019 and 2023. Data from the Bank of Namibia show that the number of people employed by FDI Enterprises (FDIEs) grew in line with rising FDI inflows. In 2023, foreign-owned enterprises employed an estimated 62,817 people, including temporary staff and contractors, compared to 55,982 in 2019—an increase of 6,835 jobs over five years (notwithstanding Covid-19 impact). These new jobs were primarily in the wholesale and retail, mining, quarrying, and financial sectors. According to the 2018 Labour Force Survey, FDIEs represented 5.7% of total employment, indicating that FDI is largely focused on high-paying, capital-intensive sectors like mining and financial intermediation, which require a skilled workforce. On average, FDIEs accounted for 21.6% of formal jobs over the five year period.
Lastly, we would like to highlight that Namibia has seen a significant increase in economic activity and economic growth over the past four years, driven amongst others by FDI inflows that stimulate the local economy. This growth is reflected in improved fiscal space, enabling the government to support social projects and provide tax relief to citizens.
Conclusion:
The total expenditure on investment promotion missions during the period under question is proportionate to the scale and impact of investments secured. When compared to the value of grounded investments and the overall growth in FDI, these expenses represent a strategic investment in Namibia’s economic future.
As a matter of fact, the NIPDB’s spending on travel, promotional events and foreign investment missions is aligned with its mandate to drive economic growth, attract investment, and enhance Namibia’s global competitiveness. Going forward, NIPDB will continue to assess and optimise its investment promotion strategies to ensure maximum impact and value for the Namibian economy.
Finally, we would like to emphasize that the NIPDB operates with integrity, transparency and an unwavering commitment to coming up with initiatives aimed at overcoming the triple challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty. To this end, our team remains focused and dedicated to unclocking investment opportunities that lead to inclusive growth.
Issued by:
Catherine Shipushu
Senior Manager: Marketing, Branding and Communications
Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board
Mobile: +264 81 127 9069
Telephone: +264 83 333 8636
Email: catherine.shipushu@nipdb.com
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