Namibia praised for being business-friendly

Foereign investors in different projects across Namibia have praised the country as being easy to do business in.

Otjimbele project chief executive Carlos Aretxaga, speaking during a media briefing last week, said Namibia is an organised country with clear policies in place when it comes to doing business.

“The policies and the legal framework are really clear: There is a rule of law and this is the first thing that is required for any investor to come and invest in a country,” said Aretxaga.

“Sometimes they [investors] are scared of Africa mainly because they feel there is this uncertainty on the policy side.

On the legal side, however, Namibia has a very clear legal framework, and this is actually what eases the business,” he said.

However, he said there is work that needs to be done on the safety side as there have been several reports of theft at Otjimbele.

“Unsafety is something that scares investors away and in the last two weeks, we had issues of robberies.

This obviously affects the project and I hope the regional commander steps in and starts looking into that,” said Aretxaga.

Pyrogenic Carbon Capture and Storage Namibia managing director Henrike Geldmacher, speaking during a media visit at Otjiwarongo, said the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) has made it easier for foreigners to start businesses in the country.

Geldmacher said the board works closely with investors to help them understand policies and even goes as far as going to different offices to obtain the required documentation.

“The investment board has gone with us to government offices whenever we needed things like permits, creating ease of doing business in Namibia,” he said.

Another investor, Namibia Berries founder and director Michael Rodenburg, speaking during a site visit at Divundu last week, said apart from the issue of acquiring land, Namibia’s business environment is good.

Rodenburg said the ease of doing business in the country comes from the help the NIPDB gives to foreign investors.

“What the NIPDB is doing is something other countries can emulate,” said Rodenburg.