Foreign direct investment projects facilitated by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), have yielded more than 6 600 jobs over the past three years and saw multi-million-dollar investments being made in 27 projects.
The jobs were created through projects currently in the capital deployed or operational stage, across various key sectors such as mining, renewable energy, agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, logistics, health and pharmaceuticals, amongst others.
“It is important to note that this data pertains to the projects that were facilitated through the NIPDB
and are recorded in the NIPDB investment pipeline. The underlying investments include, amongst others, mining and mineral development projects, renewable-energy facilities, agricultural production and processing operations, manufacturing facilities, tourism establishments and other industrial and service-sector investments,” said Catherine Shipushu, NIPDB’s Acting Executive for Competitiveness and Branding.
She explained that these are projects where investors have already made financial investments in Namibia, including towards construction, infrastructure, equipment and other project development activities, with some already operational and creating jobs.
In terms of new greenfield foreign direct investment projects, Namibia attracted 19 projects in 2024 and 16 investment projects in 2025, which saw it rank second globally for greenfield foreign direct investment performance relative to its economy size.
The projects included the Kokoseb Gold Project, Nopal Carbon Farming, ISPS Solar Operations, and Kudu Biomass and others.
Cumulative net foreign direct investment inflows reached N$114.9 billion between 2021 and 2024, with quarterly net inflows fluctuating around N$12.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, which saw steady flows through to 2025, and N$11.4 billion recorded in the second quarter of this year, though capital-intensive oil, gas, and mining projects drive the majority of these figures rather than high-volume manual labour creation.
Namibia is one of the most investment-friendly destinations in Africa, ranking first in Africa and second globally in the FDI Intelligence Greenfield FDI Performance Index 2026 for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to its economic size.
Out of 98 countries assessed, Namibia punches far above its weight class, backed by strong investor confidence, major structural shifts, a reputation for a peaceful democracy, an independent judiciary, constitutionally guaranteed property rights, and smooth political transitions. The NIPDB’s role as an investment promotion agency, is to facilitate engagement with the relevant authorities, follow up on outstanding matters and, where necessary, escalate constraints that are impeding projects from progressing towards Final Investment Decisions, capital deployment and ultimately operationalisation.
More investments
Shipushu also shared that a further 94 investments projects are in the pipeline and could generate an additional 22 000 jobs in the near future.
“The 22 000 jobs referred to are projected employment opportunities associated with projects at various stages in the NIPDB’s investment pipeline, from lead to capital deployed. As such, they should therefore not be interpreted as jobs already created. The NIPDB does not currently record projected employment by specific occupation or job category…”
“The investment pipeline is diversified across several sectors, with the strongest concentrations in mining, energy and renewable energy, and agriculture and agro-processing, alongside projects in manufacturing and beneficiation, tourism and hospitality, fisheries, health and pharmaceuticals, and other sectors,” stated Shipushu.
She clarified that the nature of the employment opportunities depends on the sector, scale and development phase of each project and may range from highly skilled and technical positions to semi-skilled and unskilled employment, as well as temporary employment during construction and development phases.
Shipushu added that efforts are being made to unlock additional foreign investment projects and to address bottlenecks delaying projects with the potential to create more jobs and grow the economy.
“Private sector investment is essential for generating economic growth, creating employment, and reducing poverty. But Namibia’s competitiveness as an investment destination depends largely on our ability to create an environment in which businesses can invest and thrive. The speed and effectiveness with which bottlenecks constraining business operations are addressed are also critical to strengthening investor confidence in Namibia. The current constraints vary from project to project and often require intervention from more than one government institution.”
She highlighted that as part of their investment facilitation services, the NIPDB works hand in hand with other OMAs to ensure effective service delivery, and investor compliance with relevant legal requirements.
Based on NIPDB’s experience in facilitating projects, recurring constraints include delays in Environmental Clearance Certificates (ECCs) and other regulatory approvals; access to and allocation of land; including land-access challenges associated with Exclusive Prospecting Licences (EPLs), as well as sector-specific licences and permits.
Other bottlenecks include special infrastructure and utility requirements; policy and regulatory uncertainties; immigration and work-permit requirements; market-access matters; and lengthy administrative or approval processes.
“There are also instances where projects require financing or other commercial interventions, which are not necessarily within the Government’s control. For example, the recent project portfolio includes projects requiring regulatory approvals, land, environmental clearances, mining licences, funding and market-access interventions.”
– ohembapu@nepc.com.na
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