Namibia shines as Africa’s investment hotspot amid energy boom Namibia shines as Africa’s investment hotspot amid energy boom
En vogue
Stable policies and robust infrastructure draw global investors to Namibia's growing economy.
Ogone Tlhage
As Africa’s economic star rises with a US$3.4 trillion market and a population of 1.4 billion, Namibia is emerging as a prime destination for global investors. With a stable government, world-class infrastructure, and a strategic focus on energy transitions, the country is poised for significant growth, according to RMB Namibia’s Head of Oil and Gas, Angelique Peake.
This follows the US-Africa Business Summit held in Luanda, Angola. There, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reassured investors of Namibia’s commitment to finalising critical policies, such as the Investment Facilitation Bill and the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework, signalling an open invitation to help drive economic progress while tackling unemployment. With multi-billion-dollar oil and gas projects on the horizon, Namibia’s blend of stability, opportunity, and investor-friendly conditions positions it as “Africa light” – a beacon for long-term, transformative investments.
“You must understand that the world is seeing that Africa is growing, that Africa has a massive, I mean, they were talking about 1.3, 1.4 billion people, a U$3.4 trillion economy, and that presents a massive opportunity. Africa is growing, Europe is shrinking and from an economic perspective, there is a massive amount of growth and opportunity for Namibia. We have many different types of industries where we have abilities to grow the country and the economy. With the more recent energy transitions, naturally, there’s even more opportunity for people to invest, and we’re already seeing it in the country now,” Peake said.
Peake believes that Nandi-Ndaitwah had done sufficient work to assure investors that Namibia was prime for investment. “President Nandi-Ndaitwah at the summit gave investors the assurance that Namibia would work on its investment facilitation bill, and then we also know that there are issues around the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework, and the Bill for that matter,” Peake said.
Another positive for Namibia is the stability that investors can draw confidence from. “The government is stable, the fiscal and legal policies are stable, and while there are still some policies that are not clear and are not finalised, she [Nandi-Ndaitwah] made it very clear that she has tasked her new ministers to finalise these with urgency, so I think the message was one of ‘come here, help us grow this country, do it in the way that helps us solve for unemployment’,” Peake said.
Oil and gas investments
On the oil and gas front, Peake explained that it was necessary for oil majors currently exploring for oil in Namibia to be given sufficient time to do the groundwork, as the investments stemming from projected projects would require significant investment.
This pertains to TotalEnergies’ Venus 1-X project in which it has announced that it will make a final investment decision by the end of this year or early next year, Shell’s Graff 1-X project, or Galp’s Mopane-2A wells.
“You need to understand that these investments are massive. They are multiples of billions of US dollars, and a lot of that investment currently in the exploration phase is at risk. But when they go into a decision of do we go ahead with this, it’s not a two or three-year investment, it’s a 20 or 30-year investment,” she said.
Investors would also require policy certainty with regards to whether their capital expenditure in Namibia would enjoy protection under current laws, and whether the ease of profit repatriation would exist.
“They need to know that the way they invest their money now and the conditions under which they invest, will be solid and there for the future and not suddenly be completely different. No business wants to invest like that, and ultimately while these investors are going to be able to make a big difference for Namibia, they are still a business. They still have a shareholder and they still need certainty to be able to operate,” Peake said.
Policy environment
Peake, however, felt that the government still needs to put work into finalising its local policy content to ensure policy certainty for foreign investors.
“I think that both the local content policy, which is still in draft, as well as the investment bill, which is being committed to, be finalised very soon, are going to make a big difference in how investors view Namibia. I think that is the one thing where we need to really get a move on. The President is committed that she wants to get a move on these because people need to know under which conditions they are investing,” she said.
The local policy guidelines, while still in draft form, offered investors some appetite for investment, Peake said. “The local policy content has been out for some time. From a banking perspective, this creates an appetite for investment in Namibia.”
Namibia’s physical and banking infrastructure stood it in good light for investors to make a case for Namibia, Peake said.
“Things work here. We have the best roads in Africa, the best infrastructure possibilities, the banking system works, and you can pay anything with a card and or cash. Things are stable, things work, and they like that. And you know, in other countries, people go in, these expats go in, they stay for three months, six months, then they shift again,” Peake said.
Added to that was the ease of doing business from the aspect that Namibia was a predominantly English-speaking country, a further boon for investors.
“Here, everything works so well from an African perspective that they are bringing their families and their dogs and their kids because they feel that they can live here and invest here personally as well. Also, we are an English-speaking country, and that really makes a big difference, because anyone that they want to train, they don’t first have to teach them English. It’s a real benefit,” Peake said.
As Africa’s economic star rises with a US$3.4 trillion market and a population of 1.4 billion, Namibia is emerging as a prime destination for global investors. With a stable government, world-class infrastructure, and a strategic focus on energy transitions, the country is poised for significant growth, according to RMB Namibia’s Head of Oil and Gas, Angelique Peake.
This follows the US-Africa Business Summit held in Luanda, Angola. There, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reassured investors of Namibia’s commitment to finalising critical policies, such as the Investment Facilitation Bill and the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework, signalling an open invitation to help drive economic progress while tackling unemployment. With multi-billion-dollar oil and gas projects on the horizon, Namibia’s blend of stability, opportunity, and investor-friendly conditions positions it as “Africa light” – a beacon for long-term, transformative investments.
“You must understand that the world is seeing that Africa is growing, that Africa has a massive, I mean, they were talking about 1.3, 1.4 billion people, a U$3.4 trillion economy, and that presents a massive opportunity. Africa is growing, Europe is shrinking and from an economic perspective, there is a massive amount of growth and opportunity for Namibia. We have many different types of industries where we have abilities to grow the country and the economy. With the more recent energy transitions, naturally, there’s even more opportunity for people to invest, and we’re already seeing it in the country now,” Peake said.
Peake believes that Nandi-Ndaitwah had done sufficient work to assure investors that Namibia was prime for investment. “President Nandi-Ndaitwah at the summit gave investors the assurance that Namibia would work on its investment facilitation bill, and then we also know that there are issues around the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework, and the Bill for that matter,” Peake said.
Another positive for Namibia is the stability that investors can draw confidence from. “The government is stable, the fiscal and legal policies are stable, and while there are still some policies that are not clear and are not finalised, she [Nandi-Ndaitwah] made it very clear that she has tasked her new ministers to finalise these with urgency, so I think the message was one of ‘come here, help us grow this country, do it in the way that helps us solve for unemployment’,” Peake said.
Oil and gas investments
On the oil and gas front, Peake explained that it was necessary for oil majors currently exploring for oil in Namibia to be given sufficient time to do the groundwork, as the investments stemming from projected projects would require significant investment.
This pertains to TotalEnergies’ Venus 1-X project in which it has announced that it will make a final investment decision by the end of this year or early next year, Shell’s Graff 1-X project, or Galp’s Mopane-2A wells.
“You need to understand that these investments are massive. They are multiples of billions of US dollars, and a lot of that investment currently in the exploration phase is at risk. But when they go into a decision of do we go ahead with this, it’s not a two or three-year investment, it’s a 20 or 30-year investment,” she said.
Investors would also require policy certainty with regards to whether their capital expenditure in Namibia would enjoy protection under current laws, and whether the ease of profit repatriation would exist.
“They need to know that the way they invest their money now and the conditions under which they invest, will be solid and there for the future and not suddenly be completely different. No business wants to invest like that, and ultimately while these investors are going to be able to make a big difference for Namibia, they are still a business. They still have a shareholder and they still need certainty to be able to operate,” Peake said.
Policy environment
Peake, however, felt that the government still needs to put work into finalising its local policy content to ensure policy certainty for foreign investors.
“I think that both the local content policy, which is still in draft, as well as the investment bill, which is being committed to, be finalised very soon, are going to make a big difference in how investors view Namibia. I think that is the one thing where we need to really get a move on. The President is committed that she wants to get a move on these because people need to know under which conditions they are investing,” she said.
The local policy guidelines, while still in draft form, offered investors some appetite for investment, Peake said. “The local policy content has been out for some time. From a banking perspective, this creates an appetite for investment in Namibia.”
Namibia’s physical and banking infrastructure stood it in good light for investors to make a case for Namibia, Peake said.
“Things work here. We have the best roads in Africa, the best infrastructure possibilities, the banking system works, and you can pay anything with a card and or cash. Things are stable, things work, and they like that. And you know, in other countries, people go in, these expats go in, they stay for three months, six months, then they shift again,” Peake said.
Added to that was the ease of doing business from the aspect that Namibia was a predominantly English-speaking country, a further boon for investors.
“Here, everything works so well from an African perspective that they are bringing their families and their dogs and their kids because they feel that they can live here and invest here personally as well. Also, we are an English-speaking country, and that really makes a big difference, because anyone that they want to train, they don’t first have to teach them English. It’s a real benefit,” Peake said.
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