There is a certain hard-nosed resilience that comes with being a female entrepreneur in the medical space. Dr Esperance Luvindao had many hurdles and naysayers in her journey but is working to ensure quality healthcare actually reaches everyone.



“Well, I am no longer under 30,” Dr Esperance Luvindao laughs on the Zoom call with FORBES AFRICA.



For years, even before she made the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list in 2022, this Namibian medical professional has been working on solutions aimed at assisting patients throughout Africa’s semi-rural areas and suburbs to gain access to prescribed medication without having to travel long distances or suffer out-of-pocket health costs through conventional modes.



The <a href="https://healthpolicy-watch.news/only-half-of-africans-have-access-to-health-care/#:~:text=Less%20than%20half%20of%20Africa's,women%20and%20girls%20are%20unmet." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Health Policy Watch</a> estimated in 2021 that just over 50% (about 615 million) of people on the continent have access to the healthcare they need. The report further noted that “the continent’s quality of health services is generally poor and the family planning needs of half the continent’s women and girls are unmet”.



In a fact sheet released by the <a href="https://files.aho.afro.who.int/afahobckpcontainer/production/files/Health-for-all_Regional_Factsheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization</a> (WHO), there were only 3,894 health training institutions in Africa in 2018, of which 2,128 (55%) were owned by the public sector, 1,351 (35%) by private for-profit sector entities and 415 (11%) by private not-for-profit entities. The sheet went on to state that there is still “much work” that needs to be done to get countries to a point where they achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and access to quality healthcare.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62696" style="width:300px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSCF0083-2-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


This is why Luvindao plans to launch her innovation MENGA, a digital health solution.



With the idea of releasing the burden of state hospitals by reducing queues, her biggest challenge has been legislation. To fully release MENGA to the public in Namibia, Luvindao says there needs to be forward-thinking legislation on telemedicine in the country.



“On the patient end, you don&#8217;t need internet connectivity for this, which sets us (her health solution) apart,” Luvindao says.



“I think about two years ago, I did a TED Talk exactly on this model, and I said, ‘what if you could consult your doctor without even using the internet, [with] using a messaging system or USSD code’. We built this model around meeting people at their point of need because a lot of patients in informal settlements or semi-rural areas do not have access to the internet.”



What also inspired Luvindao to venture into digital healthcare was her experience with patients around their sexual reproductive health.



“Every single time, we went and did outreach for our copper IUCD (intrauterine contraceptive device) clinics, we had to use an interpreter to explain that a copper IUCD has a string or it does not have any hormones. And oftentimes, I figured that there&#8217;s no word for hormone or progesterone in a lot of these African languages.”



On the continent, according to WHO, contraceptive use is low – 2020 WHO data showed that only 56.3% of women living in a relationship or married used modern methods for family planning, compared to more than 75%, on average, in the rest of the world. Despite the increase in contraceptive use over the past 30 years, many women (43.7%) on the continent still do not have access to modern contraceptive methods.



“So, I said ‘this is where we have to start’,” Luvindao adds. “We need to start educating people in a language that they understand. Otherwise, we&#8217;re just trying to soothe ourselves again. So, we started translating our material into native languages.”



Although this has been a journey that has sometimes been challenging for the young doctor, her mission has remained steadfast and strong.



“It sounds clichéd but I believe in impact,” she says with a big smile. “There are things you can change and there are things you can&#8217;t change. But when I look at it, the impact is worth so much more… If I can change someone’s life, I will say to myself, ‘this is the reason why I&#8217;m doing it’. So, for me, that is a motivating factor.”

DSCF1249

Survivors & Thrivers: The Namibian Doctor Changing The Language Of Digital Healthcare  

Namibia recently decided to impose visa requirements on countries that do not offer reciprocal visa-free entry.



Namibia is set to implement a new visa policy aimed at launching in April 2025, requiring citizens from over 30 countries, including major Western nations like the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to obtain visas for entry. This move is intended to ensure &#8220;parity and fairness in diplomatic interactions&#8221;, according to a press statement from the Namibian Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security issued earlier this year, reflecting a growing trend among Global South countries to assert themselves in global diplomatic exchanges.



The Hospitality Association of Namibia has expressed concerns over the potential impact on tourism, a sector contributing 7% to the country&#8217;s GDP. The new visa requirements for visitors from key source markets may affect Namibia’s image as a welcoming destination. With European countries accounting for a significant portion of tourist arrivals, industry experts fear that the policy might deter travelers, particularly those sensitive to additional travel costs.



Namibian policymakers defend the decision as a necessary assertion of sovereignty. Namibian Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security Albert Kawana stated in a press release that, “This decision ensures that our policies are respected internationally and that Namibian citizens face fair treatment abroad.”



Analysts have noted that Namibia is not alone in this approach. Namibia&#8217;s stance reflects a broader trend where countries like Brazil are revising their visa policies to mirror the requirements imposed by Western nations. This shift signals a desire among Global South countries to change narratives about their role and treatment in international relations.



While the tourism sector voices concern, the Namibian government insists the process will be streamlined with visas available on arrival, minimizing disruptions for travelers. Still, as the policy looms, the debate continues on whether the diplomatic gains will outweigh potential economic drawbacks.



This policy shift underscores a broader debate in Africa: balancing national sovereignty with the economic imperatives of tourism and investment. As discussions evolve, Namibia&#8217;s move may prompt broader reflections across the continent on the balance between welcoming foreign investment and asserting national dignity.

The Hosea Kutako International Airport is the main

‘Ensures Our Policies Are Respected Internationally’: Namibia’s New Visa Policy For Over 30 Countries

Topline



South African president Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation this evening following the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic with the new variant, Omicron. In his address, Ramaphosa has called for countries who have imposed travel bans on southern Africa to immediately rethink their decision; the South African cabinet has moved to not place the country in a hard lockdown.



Key Facts



Ramaphosa called on countries that imposed travel restrictions on South Africa to lift the “unjustified, discriminatory” bans before further economic damage is caused.



“We are deeply disappointed by the decision of several countries to prohibit travel from a number of southern African countries following the identification of the Omicron variant. This is a clear and completely unjustified departure from the commitment that many of these countries made at the meeting of G20 countries in Rome last month,” he said, announcing that South Africa would stay on lockdown alert level 1.



The travel bans imposed by certain countries are in the wake of the B.1.1.529 variant, known as Omicron, first identified and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa on November 24. According to WHO, the epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant. In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of the Omicron variant. The first known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on November 9.



Although the country has seen cases rise from 2% to 9 % in less than a week, Ramaphosa noted that the reason behind keeping South Africa at alert level one is the country does have “tools” to protect citizens from the variant. These tools include improving the vaccination process because “vaccines do work, vaccines are saving lives”.



“Vaccination is also vital to the return of our economy to full operation, to the resumption of travel and to the recovery of vulnerable sectors like tourism and hospitality,” Ramaphosa reiterated.



“In taking the decision not to impose further restrictions at this stage, we considered the fact that when we encountered previous waves of infection, vaccines were not widely available and far fewer people were vaccinated. That is no longer the case.”



This is why the president said he was dismayed by other countries across the globe taking the



“unjustified” choice to ban southern African countries from traveling here and vice versa.



“They pledged at that [G20] meeting to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner, consistent with the work of relevant international organizations…” Ramaphosa said. “The G20 Rome Declaration noted the plight of the tourism sector in developing countries, and made a commitment to support a ‘rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector’.”



Countries that have already banned travel from South Africa&nbsp;



Multiple countries across the globe have imposed a travel bans from most countries situated in southern Africa. The restrictions applies to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.&nbsp;



United Kingdom&nbsp;&nbsp;



The South Africa government stated in a press release on November 26 2021, that they noted the&nbsp;temporary&nbsp;ban&nbsp;on&nbsp;all flights from the Southern parts of Africa, including South Africa from entering the UK due to the new variant.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While they respected the decision, the Department of International Relations&nbsp;and Cooperation said they do feel the ban&nbsp;“seems&nbsp;to have been rushed as even the WHO&nbsp;is yet to advise on the next steps.”&nbsp;



Minister Naledi Pandor said &#8220;Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries.&nbsp;



European Union&nbsp;



Also&nbsp;on Friday the European Union had reportedly also moved to&nbsp;ban flights from southern African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-26/eu-proposes-to-halt-air-travel-from-southern-africa-over-variant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg,</a>&nbsp;The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control labeled the strain as a “variant of concern,” its most severe category.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Other countries that have reportedly imposed travel bans to countries in southern Africa:&nbsp;&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>USA&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Seychelles&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Japan&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>France&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Singapore&nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;</li><li>Germany&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Canada&nbsp;</li><li>Australia&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;</li><li>Turkey&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Sri Lanka&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>The&nbsp;United Arab Emirates&nbsp;</li><li>Thailand&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Brazil&nbsp;</li><li>Gautemala&nbsp;</li></ul>



Crucial Quote  



Ramaphosa has called upon countries imposing travel bans on the southern African region to urgently reverse the imposition before any further damage is done to the economy and to the livelihoods of people. 



“These restrictions are unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic”&nbsp;

Federal Health Minister Spahn travels to South Africa

‘Prohibition Of Travel Not Informed By Science’, Says Ramaphosa Calling Out Countries Imposing Bans On Southern Africa

TOPLINE After demolishing the field in the women’s 100-meter finals last week, Jamaican sprinters Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will be part of a star-studded lineup vying for gold in the 200-meter final at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday amid controversy about two finalists from Namibia who have been barred from the 400-meter race following a contentious testosterone ruling.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



The 200-meter women’s finals are expected to be among the most competitive track and field events at the Tokyo Games with multiple gold medal contenders.



Thompson-Herah will look to pull off a repeat of her 200-meter gold win at the Rio Olympics and just like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/31/elaine-thompson-herah-takes-stunning-olympic-gold-in-womens-100m" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last week’s 100-meter final</a>, she will likely be challenged by her compatriot Fraser-Pryce.



Among the challengers will be American Gabby Thomas, the Harvard-educated neurobiology major who overcame a health scare earlier this summer to post the second-fastest ever women’s 200-meter time of 21.61—second only to Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 21.34 seconds.



Bahamian sprinter and current holder of the 400-meter Olympic gold medal, Shaunae Miller-Uibo and 100-meter African record holder Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast will also be in the mix.



All eyes will also be on two 18-year old Namibian runners—Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi—who were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-track-and-field-shaunae-miller-elaine-thompson-sports-3e29b4cf0394f204fbcde928ad2c9f03" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">controversially barred</a>&nbsp;from participating in the 400-meter event as World Athletics ruled that their naturally occurring high testosterone levels give them an unfair advantage over the rest of the field in longer events.



Christine Mboma smashed the world under-20 record twice in the span of a few hours and even charged past Thomas in the 200-meter semi-finals.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



If Thompson-Herah wins, she will become the first woman in history to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter gold in back-to-back Olympics games. She had won gold in both events at the Rio 2016 Olympics.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



World Athletics&#8217; ruling against Mboma and Masilingi in the 400 meters only applies to races between 400-meters and a mile as the governing body argues it gives them an unfair advantage over other female athletes. The same rules have sidelined double Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya of South Africa in the 800 meters event. The world athletic body has been called out for its stance being in direct opposition to efforts to make athletics more inclusive. But Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/sports/olympics/track-field.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insisted</a>&nbsp;that the rule is in place to maintain the “integrity of the sport.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-track-and-field-shaunae-miller-elaine-thompson-sports-3e29b4cf0394f204fbcde928ad2c9f03" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Teenagers make 200 final in Olympic testosterone controversy</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/31/elaine-thompson-herah-takes-stunning-olympic-gold-in-womens-100m" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elaine Thompson-Herah wins greatest 100m women’s race ever to take gold</a>&nbsp;(Guardian)



<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/08/02/womens-200-meter-olympic-final-track-and-field/5457931001/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Field loaded for women&#8217;s 200-meter final at Tokyo Olympics</a>&nbsp;(USA Today)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/sports/olympics/track-field.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Track and Field Aimed for Inclusion. Instead It Sidelined Star Athletes.</a> (New York Times)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Athletics – Olympics: Day 10

Tokyo Olympics: Star-Studded Line Up Takes Center Stage In Women’s 200m Final Amid Testosterone Controversy

Emma Inamutila Theofelus is Namibia’s youngest minister hoping to turn around the fortunes of Africa’s youth.



EMMA INAMUTILA THEOFELUS IS NOT YOUR average 24-year-old. She is the Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology in Namibia, and at the top, represents her country’s majority demographic – the youth.



First appointed by President Hage G. Geingob as a Member of Parliament (MP), and then also as Deputy Minister in March last year, her immediate task was public communication on the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.



“I have learned that in a time of crisis, people panic and are susceptible to unverified information. I have also observed that citizens need to hear the same messaging in order to start believing it and trusting the source,” says the young politician, who was born and raised in Katutura, a township in Namibia’s capital Windhoek. 



There is the obvious issue of the glaring age gap between her and the parliamentarians she works with, but she says she does not let that intimidate her.



“We all started somewhere. I am not new to leadership and can leverage the skills I have learned in my activism to make a success of this role. Quite frankly, I believe I am well on my way,” says Theofelus, also a social justice lawyer.



In her dual role as MP and deputy minister, she plans to continue influencing decisions and laws made in the interest of young people.



“In my specific role, I have set out some key goals being that of communicating the programs of government effectively and so far we have done well in setting up a Government Information Centre. Secondly, I want to optimize the use of our Multi-Purpose Community Centres which act as ICT hubs for communities who have limited access to ICT. Thirdly, I want to help bridge the digital divide in the country through the prioritization of setting up ICT infrastructure,” she says.



Previously, Theofelus has worked as the Legal Officer at the Ministry of Justice, Vice Chairperson of the Global Entrepreneurs Network Namibia Board, the Commissioner of UNESCO Namibia and Junior Mayor of the City of Windheok.



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49652 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hon.-Emma-Thefelus-3-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We all started somewhere. I am not new to leadership and can leverage the skills I have learned in my activism to make a success of this role. Quite frankly, I believe I am well on my way.</blockquote>
</div></div>



“She is seen as a beacon of hope, so she has the youth vote and the youth support,” says Luis Munana, a FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list-maker in 2019 from Namibia. “Everybody is waiting for the old guys to leave so that new change comes into the country because we are tired of the old system as it is not really serving the people.”



Theofelus adds diversity to Namibia’s government, following in the footsteps of the first woman to serve as the Prime Minister of Namibia, Saara Kuugongelwa.



The fight to advance women’s empowerment and youth development on the continent has been a top priority for many countries, which has seen most governments appoint female leaders. In neighboring Botswana, trade economist and consultant Bogolo Kenewendo was only 29 when she was appointed Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry. In 2018, Zimbabwe appointed Kirsty Coventry, former Olympics swimmer, and world record holder, as the minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation. Vera Daves De Sousa became Angola’s finance minister in 2019 at the age of 35.



Back in Namibia, to Africa’s youth, Theofelus says: “We are going to get this continent right.”

Hon. Emma Theofelus 2

‘We’re Going To Get This Continent Right’

Although the world was struck by the Covid-19 Pandemic, other issues were also brought to the forefront in 2020. Here are the hashtags from Africa that caught the globe’s attention this year.



#ENDSars: Just as the country celebrated its diamond jubilee, police brutality protests started on October 7 in Nigeria calling for the disbanding of the infamous police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which had long been accused of extortion, torture, and extra-judicial killings.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49261" width="432" height="288" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Maciek Musialek/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#CongoIsBleeding: Exploitation in the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received attention in October to highlight child slavery, deadly conflicts, and corruption spawned by the quest to feed mega-companies with minerals.



#ShutItAllDown: This was a wave of ongoing gender-based violence protests across Namibia aimed at stopping the spread of rape and the killing of women. According to CNN, the protests were in response to news of another attack, in turn, those protestors threatened to leave everything at a standstill for four days earlier in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49263" width="388" height="259" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" /><figcaption> (Photo by HILDEGARD TITUS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#ZimbabweanLivesMatter: A predominantly online demonstration to address the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe in August. According to The Guardian, the hashtag was ‘fashioned’ after the Black Lives Matter global protests staged since the killing of George Floyd by a US police officer in May. Furthermore, the incarceration of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and the Booker Prize long-listed author Tsitsi Dangarembga has angered more people across Africa.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49265" width="433" height="289" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /><figcaption>Julie Barnes holds a placard during an anti-corruption protest march along Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. (Photo by ZINYANGE AUNTONY/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#RapeNationalEmergancy: On September 11, Liberian President George Weah declared rape a national emergency in the country. According to Al Jazeera, Weah introduced measures in place to address the increase in violence against women. Measures include a special prosecutor for rape in the country, as well as the set-up of a national sex offender registry and the establishment of a “national security task force” on sexual and gender-based violence.



#ChildTrafficking: This has been highlighted as a severe problem on cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast. According to a US study, the prevalence of children doing hazardous work, including using sharp tools, has also gone up in the world’s top two cocoa producers, reported Al Jazeera in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49266" width="444" height="294" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-2048x1356.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-600x397.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#Guinea: Guinea’s president, Alpha Condé, has won a “controversial third term” with 59.49% of the vote, the National Independent Electoral Commission declared on October 24. According to the Guardian, his victory came at the same time as widespread protests “violently suppressed by security forces”.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49262" width="395" height="263" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px" /><figcaption> Alpha Conde addresses his supporters at a campaign rally in Conakry on October 16, 2020. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#AnglophoneCrisis: Since October 2016, Cameroon’s Anglophone minority have been protesting due to sectoral grievances that morphed into political demands. On October 24 this year, the United Nations reported that eight children were killed and dozens wounded by a group of armed men at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba in the southwest region of Cameroon. Although the southwest region is one of two Anglophone regions, it was not clear if the attack was linked to a continuing struggle between government forces and armed groups in the English-speaking west seeking to form a breakaway state.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49268" width="418" height="278" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" /><figcaption> Anglophone village women pray in a church located in a hill village on May 12, 2019 a few miles outside Buea in SW Cameroon. (Photo by Giles Clarke/UNOCHA via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#PrayForEthiopia: CNN reported on November 7 that a military conflict, which has raised fears of civil war, broke out due to Tigray&#8217;s Peoples Liberation Front’s (TPLF) unilateral decision to elect a regional administration against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s wishes. “Our operation aims to end the impunity that has prevailed for far too long and hold accountable individuals and groups under the laws of the land,” Abiy said on Twitter. According to the Herald Malaysia, this resulted in heavy casualties and thousands of civilians fleeing the region.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49259" width="431" height="287" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px" /><figcaption>TOPSHOT &#8211; An Ethiopian refugee who fled the Tigray conflict prays during Sunday Mass at an Ethiopian Orthodox church building built by former Ethiopian refugees, at the village next to Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, on December 6, 2020. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#StopGBV: During the lockdown, gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa has become a second pandemic for the country. According to the Commission of Gender Equality, South Africa is ranked amongst the highest in Africa for domestic violence. At the end of July, Police Minister Bheki Cele released crime stats showing that sexual crimes in the country increased by 1.7%, with 53,293 cases reported. This is 873 cases more than in 2019.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49267" width="389" height="270" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1536x1065.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-2048x1421.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-600x416.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" /><figcaption>Students protest against gender based violence (GBV) at parliament on June 24, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>

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What Was Trending In Africa In 2020?

When Maria Hiwilepo was seven years old, she would walk barefoot six kilometers to school. In those hot days, meandering between bush, trees and mud, she would look up to the sky and see a different world. Airplanes, with their engines roaring high above her, were a rare sight in the bush village of Ohainengena, in northern Nambia, far from technology and the modern world. For Hiwilepo, the sky and the world beyond her small village held inspiration.
“It was a childhood dream. I always wanted to fly. I grew up with a curiosity. How did they work? How did they stay up there? Why up there? Where I grew up, it was very prestigious to be a teacher or a pastor or a nurse. I would see helicopters, I would see things flying and hear their sounds,” says Hiwilepo.
This is the remarkable story that took Hiwilepo out of the Namibian countryside and into the world of fashion and flight. She turned her dream into reality and became an international commercial pilot, flying the planes she saw as a child. That’s not all.
“It was a different world, of what I know the world to be now&#8230; It would be perfect to live in a world where I could fly my own aircraft, land it, go to a shoot, and then fly home again,” she says.
Hiwilepo’s village was so small she could tell who had gone to school by their footprints in the sand.
“It was always just hot. I remember the heat because I remember always been so thirsty walking home from school,” she says.
“I really loved school. I remember refusing to get out of bed to help clean the house, but if my dad woke me to go to school it didn’t matter. Up ‘til today I love to learn.”
When Hiwilepo finished school, she was 15 years old. She had a scholarship waiting, and was on the cusp of reaching her dream. Then they told her she had to be 18 years old to become a pilot. Hiwilepo went off to the University of Namibia to study computer science and economics instead.
It was here that modeling, which she had been doing since she was 10 years old, paid off, when she won the Miss University of Namibia pageant, which gave her a year’s free tuition. Walking down the runway turned into her second dream. From there, she stepped into the international limelight as a finalist in the 2008 Face of Africa.
“African families think modeling is more of a hobby than a career. It’s important to go to school and get the paper that says you can work as this and in the meantime you can model. My parents believed this was a hobby.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32028 size-full" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/0021.jpg" alt="" width="712" height="950" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0021.jpg 712w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0021-300x400.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0021-600x801.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0021-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" />
Around Cape Town, Hiwilepo uses her model name Amira Eli. She is now the up-and-coming fashion model who has walked the catwalks for designers like David Tlale.
“[Tlale’s shows are] always an entrance. The choreography is always so wow. He has that energy.  I remember a show I did with him and the pair of shoes I was to wear went missing. [Tlale] grabbed a pair of size three, and I’m a five, and shoved them on. I was in pain the whole away down to the run way. When I was on the runway, I couldn’t feel the pain, I forgot all about it.”
It’s an even tougher life flying planes from Windhoek to Frankfurt, but Hiwilepo does it in style, with a pair of the trendiest aviators on hand. She is also one of the rare few female pilots that can fly an Airbus A330 and a helicopter.
“I’ve done flights, where the entire cabin crew is girls. I’ve also done flights and I’m the only girl. Back then it was worse, but it is a male-dominated industry. The stereotype is: people prefer older pilots over younger pilots; men over females; and white skin over black. It’s there, it will always be there. But if you choose to let the stereotype consume you, then you are a victim. I wasn’t raised like that.”
And how does Hiwilepo juggle her two very different lives?
In between shifts, Hiwilepo flies down to the boardwalks of Cape Town to pursue her budding model career. It is the reason why FORBES WOMAN AFRICA is able to meet up with her off the runway and in a coffee shop at Greenpoint, in Cape Town. She dressed up for the occasion – her helicopter jumper suit was in a handbag next to her, just in case, she says.
“In my mind I have already landed before I have even taken off. I’m at my best when I am prepared. Am I well rested? Am I fit physically? That’s me preparing for my flight. With modeling, the preparation is different. I have to look my best, I have to take care of my life and I have to look my best.”
Of all the places, Hiwilepo rates Cape Town as the most beautiful. She may not get as much time here as she likes; by the next day, Hiwilepo was piloting an Airbus to Frankfurt; living her dreams over the skies and on the catwalks of Africa.

Amira-Eli_JC-2-of-4

Landing An Airbus A330  And The Best  Modeling  Assignments  In Africa

It must be one of the smallest airports in the world. It’s about 100 square meters with one entry and one exit. This is the gateway to Walvis Bay, Namibia, a place where the desert meets the ocean.
Its noon, the city is as quiet as the grave. It is the beginning of the year and most executives in the fishing industry are on holiday, far from their workers who risk their lives for a catch. The Walvis Bay dock tells the story of two fishermen and with it, the economy.
On this day, one fisherman is angry and feels cheated. Immanuel Petros, a charismatic union man in his forties, is leading chanting workers with clenched fists. They want more money and better working conditions.
“If you see a shack in Walvis Bay, you know it belongs to a fisherman. Workers doing the hard work earn less than $100 a month, while working for more than 16 hours a day. The city lives and breathes poverty,” says Petros.
The country’s failure to create jobs for the poor was also confirmed in a World Bank report in 2015.
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“Namibia’s economic growth, prudent macroeconomic policies, and generous social programs have not generated the jobs needed to overcome the inequitable distributions of income and assets or raise living standards in rural areas and among the urban poor,” says the report.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Namibia decreased to 28.10% in 2014 from 29.60% in 2013. Although the economy shows some signs of improvement, Petros and many others feel it’s not enough.
On the other side of the dock, fishing has thrown up an entrepreneur. The Namibian economy gave Rojo van Wyk the chance to catch a better future.
Van Wyk is the director of Mack Fishing. Ten years ago, he was selling a handful of fish but now sells more than 40 truckloads per month.
“Getting into the fishing business was my big chance, 10 years ago I was doing nothing and literally down and out and along the way I got this opportunity and now I own a fishing quarter.”
By owning a fishing quarter, Van Wyk can allocate fishing rights to beginners who pay him a small amount to fish their way out of poverty. For him, more fish is more money on his balance sheet.
According to the World Bank, political stability and sound economic management have helped anchor economic growth and poverty reduction in Namibia, leading to opportunities like the one taken by Van Wyk.
“Low interest rates, fiscal stimulus, and unusually high foreign direct investment (FDI) in mining have resulted in a construction boom, fast household consumption growth, and solid growth in tradable services,” says the bank.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) believes the country can do more in addressing the challenges faced by many of Petros’ peers.
“Namibia must deepen reforms to get better value from agriculture and extend nonmineral diversification to create jobs and reinforce spatial inclusion,” says one of the AfDB’s Economic Outlook reports.
Hanns Spangenberg, an analyst at NKC Independent Economists, says Namibia continues to be rated at an investment grade BBB- with a stable outlook.
“While the country’s fiscal and current account balances have deteriorated in recent years, and this report reflects weaker than before projections over the medium term, there is no reason to panic. The government is able to cover its borrowing needs on the domestic and international capital market while the current account deficit has increased external debt to a similar level recorded by Namibia’s ‘BB+’ and ‘BBB-’ peers,” he says.
“Namibia’s positive long-term prospects for mining exports are one of our key sovereign debt rating strengths. However, the sector has struggled during the last year due to lacklustre external demand for the country’s extractive exports. A decrease in diamond extraction led directly to the sector’s weak growth last year, while uranium output continued to record a contraction.”
He also added that, on a nominal basis, Namibia’s GDP is estimated to have contracted from around $14.6 billion in 2014 to around $13.2 billion in 2015 due to the depreciation of the South African rand (and subsequently the Namibian dollar).
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“On real terms, however, economic expansion is estimated at 4.9 percent in 2015, and is projected to accelerate slightly to 5 percent this year. Factors driving real GDP growth include strong wholesale and retail numbers, government activity, and a healthy financial services sector.”
Gary van Staden, a political expert, says there has been renewed impetus to tackle issues surrounding poverty and unemployment.
“The newly elected administration included some new people with vast experience in this field that are sure to make a meaningful impact over the long term,” says Van Staden.
He also added that political stability was crucial to Namibia’s future prospects.
“While one-party systems tend to be relatively unstable, given enough time, there is no indication of that in Namibia at the moment. On the contrary, the stability of the political environment has been a key factor in attracting foreign investment. While this may change over the extreme long term (i.e. in the next 10 to 20 years), this is not considered to be an issue currently.”

“IF you see a shack in walvis bay you know it belongs  to a fisherman”

The daughter of liberation fighters, I was born in Russia, raised in Angola as a refugee, and was blessed to witness the independence of my country Namibia. My parents, both of whom are lawyers, taught me determination and the value of service for the greater good. Their passionate belief in a nation’s right to self-determination imprinted upon me from a young age and they instilled in me the significance of harnessing natural resources as a catalyst for unlocking national development. As a young girl, my late father, Handupula Shimutwikeni, taught me my gender is only a barrier if I chose to see it as thus. My mother, Panduleni Shimutwikeni, by her example, taught me that the world is my oyster and that forging ahead against all odds is the only way forward.
My upbringing influenced my education odyssey across three continents. While in high school, I was awarded a scholarship to pursue a Business Management and Computer Information Systems degree in the United States. After obtaining my Bachelor’s, I returned home and worked in the diamond industry in a public-private partnership, under the pioneering Inge Zaamwani-Kwami, the former MD of Namibia Diamond Corporation. This experience sparked my interest in natural resources. Recognizing the need to bolster the national voice in the international world of negotiations, I went on to attain a LLM degree from Leeds University and a LLM in Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University, making me one of a handful of Namibians with such a qualification.
However, when I returned home, I was in for a surprise as it was difficult to get a job! I was told I was too young, overqualified and a woman! A ‘triple threat’ as some professionals labelled me. It was discouraging and made me question my purpose. I drew on my mother’s strength and decided to forge ahead, rise above the inequalities and in the process empower others with this truth. Thus I embarked on my entrepreneurial adventure and opportunities opened up in support of my vision. I leapt at the opportunity to consolidate my skills through a contract with the International Telecommunication Union and European Commission to co-draft Namibia’s cybercrime bill under the ‘Harmonisation of ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa’ project.
In 2011, with a fellow Dundee alumnus from Angola, I birthed Rich Africa Consultancy. The Consultancy specializes in natural resources law and policy, and facilitates investment linkages in the sector. A key objective of Rich Africa is to be a trusted advisor and catalyst to unlocking our resource potential. Its creation was inspired by the need to invoke a sense of pride in Africa and its vast natural resources.
Rich Africa launched the Namibia International Oil and Gas Conference in 2012; an initiative I conceptualized and led to fruition with the endorsement of the Namibian government. Themed the ‘Road to Discovery &amp; Beyond’, the inaugural conference brought together decision-makers, and international and national thought leaders to share best practices associated with the discovery of oil in Namibia.
This biennial conference was followed in 2014 with ‘Unlocking and Optimising Our Resource Potential’ which focused on the evolution in the industry. It is a humbling honor that these initiatives have received recognition placing Namibia on the international oil and gas platform.
On this journey, I was often confronted by scepticism because Namibia is considered a frontier territory in the oil and gas arena and such an undertaking was too big for “a petite young woman”. This only strengthened my resolve. I also used this platform to inspire women by presenting a new avenue to transformation through natural resources, a sentiment shared by Bridgette Radebe, one of South Africa’s successful black female mining entrepreneurs, and keynote speaker at our 2014 conference.
Not surprisingly, I do face moments of self-doubt but have been fortunate to have an extensive and supportive network of mentors.
A guiding tenet of my life has been, ‘when writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen’. I believe I am here to finish the work my parents started.
&nbsp;
– The writer is one of two mineral lawyers in Namibia, is CEO of Rich Africa Consultancy and an oil and gas entrepreneur.

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‘Young,  Over Qualified  And A Woman!’

When Michael Wood came to South Africa nearly a decade ago, it was to run the Gillette Company’s southern African business, after a 10 year stint in Russia. Gillette was eventually bought out by Proctor &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G). In 2009, Wood and two marketing directors left P&amp;G to start Aperio, a fast-moveable consumer goods (FMCG) focused business consulting company that helps companies find opportunities and develop businesses in Africa.
“Africa, from an outsider’s point of view can look a little bit scary because there are a lot of countries, a lot of complexities, obviously there are a few horror stories in there,” says Wood
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But, he feels that the continent, in some cases, is a lot easier to do business in than Russia, China and India when they first opened up.
Risk factors that may leave companies uncertain can be eased through partnering with established local businesses who know the market. Favorable FDI policies, like tax breaks, also make things easier. Effective trade blocs are another consideration for manufacturers.
African nations are far from the top of the list when the World Bank and International Finance Corporation ranked the ease of doing business in countries. South Africa is the highest African country at 39. Behind it are Rwanda, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Zambia and Morocco—placed between 52 and 97.
“If FMCG companies have the ambition for growth, the appetite for some risk and can get some expert help to define and develop their African business; the opportunities can be endless,” says Wood.
Investors beware! A one-size-fits-all approach will not work in Africa. The brand must relate to each specific market, and with 55 countries and thousands of languages, Africa cannot be mistaken for a single market. You’ve also got to make sure of what sells in each country. In Nigeria, for instance, the sachet format works better—be it powdered milk, washing powder or alcohol. This is simply for affordability purposes, not to be mistaken with being cheap. FORBES AFRICA can be bought while sitting in Nigeria’s notorious traffic, a testament to the fact that the country is big on “on-the-go consumption”.
“It’s [Nigeria] not an easy place to operate in and it’s quite complex, but if you get it right… you can build a very successful business,” says Wood.
Those who think that South African markets have come as far as they can, might want to heed Wood’s advice that, although there is generally more potential in other markets in Africa, the country still has a big enough emerging market—with a reported 67% of the population being lower income consumers.
According to a Unilever report, South Africa’s black middle class has grown from 1.7 million people in 2004 to 4.2 million in 2012. Its annual spending is estimated at R400 billion ($38.4 billion). This group is driving retail and vehicle sales, while also seeking affordable housing and education. There’s a view that marketers are not adjusting fast enough to meet the needs of this new market. An October 2012 report by McKinsey &amp; Company says that Africa’s consumer-driven industries will grow by more than $400 billion by 2020.
Spending pattern shifts in South Africa are said to be due to the emerging black middle class, urbanization and an increase in store credit, with the bulk of the country’s spending being on food and drinks.
South Africa’s GDP per capita of $7,750 and consumer expenditure of $4,697 is no comparison to the United States’ (US) at $49,940 and $34,723 respectively, but a growing population coupled with increasing spending capabilities is nothing to laugh at.
Although the US, United Kingdom (UK) and other established markets are large, their growth forecast has many companies turning towards Africa. The continent is gathering spending power. The US and UK’s average spending forecasts are each less than 5% a year, while South Africa’s expenditure growth is expected to increase to more than 10% a year.
Companies that have been on the continent for a long time have the advantage, but are they adapting fast enough?
Unilever has been in Africa for more than a century. The company’s second quarter results show a slowing of growth in the emerging markets—Brazil, Russia, India and China. The company’s underlying revenue rose by 5% year-on-year and developing market sales rose by 10.3%.
“The reality is that today there are very few developing markets left. That’s why Africa is currently generating so much interest as the next BRICS market for many companies,” says Wood.
An Economist Intelligence Unit report says, “A recent survey concluded by the Economist Group of 217 global companies based in 45 countries revealed that expansion in Africa is a priority for two thirds of them within the next decade.”
If the report is to be believed, the largest population growth between 2012 and 2028 will occur in Kampala, Dar es Salaam and Lusaka.
Not only does Africa have the world’s fastest growing population, but it also has the youngest. These youngsters are more brand conscious than their elders. Although brand loyalty and quality are important to African consumers, they are deemed to be highly price sensitive—depending on the country. Trust in a brand goes a long way, even if it means paying a little extra for a product.
It’s supposedly easier to change the habits of the youth, and with a young continent like Africa the possibility to create lifetime customers is endless.
“If you want to be a super-brand then you have to look like a super-brand,” says Wood as he gives examples of how Coke does it best in South Africa and how South Africa’s MTN is pulling it off in Nigeria.
MTN has a market capitalization of around $36 billion and revenue of $18 billion, with more than 200 million subscribers and access to 22 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
It faced some challenges when it began expanding into the rest of Africa.
“The company soon discovered that what works locally does not always work abroad.  Operating across the continent required adapting to local cultures and practices,” says MTN group chief human resources and corporate affairs officer, Paul Newman.
MTN has also come across limiting policies and legislation in some countries.
The opportunity to tap into Africa’s growth is not for international companies alone, but a wake-up call to Africans to take hold of their people and service their needs, but most importantly their pockets. We need to think beyond just agriculture and minerals.
Civil unrest and poor infrastructure aside, Africa and her people clearly have much more to show the world. As for Wood, he thinks that FMCGs will be the driving force behind a lot of countries’ growth.

It Looks Scary,  But Don’t Worry About It

It was a warm, autumn evening; most of Windhoek had gone to bed early, as usual. On this night of socialites and fashionistas, fashion designers came together with musicians for an evening of wow.
Eyambukepo—meaning uprising in Oshiambo—was just that, standing tall for Africa.
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“I believe that it’s events like these that show the world what we, the youth, are about,” says Richard ‘KingRich’ Namwandi, owner of record label Bay Area Music, whose team founded the show  with Shewta Wahi, a Dubai-based designer.
This night of color and dash was a sign of changing times in the once sleepy Windhoek. Everywhere you look in the burgeoning capital city—with a population of 320,000—are construction sites and signs of growth.
“With Namibia being a relatively young country—independent for 23 years—it’s understandable why we are still in the process of breaking into international industries and markets on many fronts. However, entertainment doesn’t seem to be one of those anymore. The Namibian music scene has become very vibrant […] The fashion industry is growing at a similarly impressive pace. Last year, we had our first ever Namibian Fashion Show, which saw designers from all over Africa showcasing their designs alongside four Namibian designers,” says KingRich.
The line-up included the latest in musical talent and catwalk creations.
Hafeni ‘Happy’ Fransalso presented black and white evening wear with paisley details to applause. The College of the Arts Namibia graduate majored in fashion and design, visual arts and crafts. His collection of mens and womenswear included burnt orange and yellow fabric with geometric designs and fashionably oversized accessories. Happy, as he is known, is currently creating a line of accessories made from recycled materials.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2046" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_3947-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />
The greatest challenge to Namibia’s fashion industry, he feels, is the lack of home-grown fashion magazines.
“These challenges can be overcome when people realize and see the potential in fashion, not only as an industry to make money and look good but as an art,” he says.
That evening the catwalk was also home to Namibia’s rising singers, rappers, kwaito and R&amp;B performers, from Blossom and Beast to KevyGuy and Brain The Tool.
The most popular was Ruusa Ndapewa Munalye, known as Blossom. This soulful singer was nominated in 12 categories at the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) and was named Namibia’s Best Female Artist of 2013. She scooped three other awards including: Best Kizomba; Best Newcomer and Best Shambo.
“My music reflects what is most close to my heart—messages of my roots, love, hope, and freedom,” she says.
The award-winning guitarist has performed in the United States and is touring Europe.
“The fashion show was great as it brings growth and exposure to the Namibian fashion industry. The mix of music and fashion strengthens the display of these great creations,” she says.
There is synergy between the two art forms.
“I believe as an artist, personally, that your style has to be top every time you come out. If you want to maintain an image, if you want people to respect you for your certain image, you have to be fashionable at all times. I believe they are one and the same at the end of the day,” says KingRich, who performed that night.
The sub-Saharan African country has been host to other large-scale fashion shows, as the tough-to-crack industry grows.
“The Namibian market in fashion only really started in the last two or three years, where you can actually do fashion shows like this, showcase your creativity and see how far you can push the barrier […]” says Tsatago Garoëb.
The 30-year-old happened upon his flair for fashion in high school, when he designed his sister’s graduation dress. Garoëb studied fashion and textile design at the University of Namibia. Today, he owns a fashion label—House of Tsatago, also known as H.O.T—which has dressed numerous Namibian celebrities.
His adventurous style lives through his eccentric dresses; after all, he was an assistant to David Tlale—an award-winning South African designer—during last year’s Namibian Fashion Show. Garoëb tests the boundaries because that is what fashion is about.
“I wanted to play with fabric. I wanted it to be fun, which is why I used chiffon, because it is free moving. And I wanted to incorporate fabrics like lace because it’s quite transparent and very dangerous but this accentuates a woman’s beauty. I wanted whoever is wearing my garments to feel free, beautiful and sexy, hence why I called this collection ‘hot, hot, hot’ because all of my garments were pretty hot,” he says.
The final collection, with an African feel to it, came from Shweta Wahi. It drew a standing ovation.
While other 10-year-old girls were playing with dolls, Wahi was sewing.
“For every birthday I would ask for a sewing machine or a mannequin or something to do with stitching or fabrics,” she says.
The self-taught 22-year-old—who has an eponymous fashion label—had featured in as many fashion shows as her years. This was the first of many more to come in Africa for the Indian-born designer, who was raised in Dubai and studied in Canada.
Wahi was the youngest designer at Ottawa Fashion Week in 2012 and has also showcased on the Toronto and Dubai fashion circuits.
“When you show up and people see that you are a young girl, they feel that you might be working for the person who is supposed to show up. They find it a little difficult to take you seriously, until they see your work coming down the catwalk,” she says.
Wahi interned for the winner of the first season of Project Runway Canada, Evan Biddell, who is also self-taught. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual arts at York University and qualified as an image consultant at George Brown College.
“When I start cutting the fabric, I don’t use technical patterns, because I never studied fashion at school. There is a dialogue between me and the fabric, and I drape it around a mannequin and just nip and tuck where I feel it fits […] If something goes wrong, there is always a way to fix it, you make it look like a beautiful mistake,” she says.
Her advice to aspiring fashion designers?
“I definitely think marketing has a lot to do with it and it depends on how you market your label because you have so many talented artists out there. I’ve seen so many people who are amazingly passionate and they can’t get their label out there; they can’t get the exposure they deserve. If they brush up on their business skills and maybe find a business partner and collaborate on marketing they can definitely have a sustainable business.”
But it’s not just about profit, Wahi has used her talents to raise over C$50,000 ($48,000) for charitable organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross and Haiti Relief Fund, to name a few.
This is only the beginning for Eyambukepo, it will return to a different country in Africa each year, and hopes to grace the catwalks of the world’s fashion capitals.

Tonight Windhoek,  Tomorrow the World

Vision. That is how it started.
At the dawn of Namibia’s independence from South Africa in 1990, David Namwandi, a teacher, and his wife, Virginia, noticed a skills gap. They knew that education was Namibia’s future.
“IUM [International University of Management] was founded on a one-on-one basis: one student, one lecturer, one employee, one lecture room, one blackboard and a few hundred Namibian dollars,” says Namwandi.
“My husband was the first lecturer and I was the administrator, registrar, everything.”
This was in 1994, at their rented house on 12 Sauer Street, in Windhoek. Soon, the Namwandis had four students, which later grew to 10—so many that they could no longer be taught at their home. This led to the establishment of the first private university in Namibia.
“The gap was much larger than we had even imagined. People were so hungry for what we had to offer. It became increasingly obvious that we needed to give a qualification to the programs we were offering,” she says.
The driven duo gained accreditation and offered programs from numerous international academic institutions. Twelve years later, in 2002, the founding president of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, unveiled IUM at the Safari Hotel, in Windhoek.
“We receive good support from the Namibian government… without them we would not be where we are today,” says Namwandi.
Namibians didn’t think that a private university was necessary, since there was a public university and the polytechnic.
“At the beginning there was a lot of discouragement, especially when we had financial issues, which is common to any growing institution when you are starting. People discouraged us and said: ‘Just give it up, it will never work, it can’t work, not here,’” she says.
Criticism taught her that “you can do anything. If you set your mind to do something, you can achieve it”.
“When I look at myself, where I was 10 to 15 years ago, if you had told me that I would be doing what I am doing now, I would have not believed you. But the truth, is sometimes in life, we underestimate what we can do. So, it’s only when you are thrown into the deep end that you realize what you are capable of doing,” she says.
For the only private university in Namibia, this was unchartered territory.
“It has not been easy to access the funding. Public institutions are subsidized by government, so they are able to offer good remuneration, have the infrastructure and government, from time to time, will be able to come to their aid. But for ourselves, we have to fund ourselves,” she says.
In 2010, David, by then a PhD candidate, stepped aside as the university’s first vice-chancellor, after he was appointed the deputy minister of education. Earlier this year he was appointed the minister. It was only natural that his wife, who had shared his vision, would assume the role of vice-chancellor.
Thousands of graduation caps and five campuses across the country are a testament.
“When we moved to our present location in Dorado [Windhoek], the current president, his excellency [Hifikepunye] Pohamba, inaugurated the building. President [Sam] Nujoma was also present. It was an honor to have both the current and founding presidents there in 2010,” says Namwandi.
Nujoma also celebrated alongside the couple at the university’s 10th anniversary last year.
The newly-appointed minister is known for his stern stance against corruption and mismanagement, yet after 23 years of independence, the Namibian education sector still struggles.
“At the beginning of every year, it’s the same cry, the institutions cannot accommodate a lot of the students.”
IUM will expand to the southern and eastern parts of the country next year. These campuses will focus on non-degree programs such as tourism, hospitality and events management. The country’s landscape makes it a prime destination for international tourists. Namibia welcomes 1.2 million visitors each year—which is around half of Namibia’s population—and tourism contributes N$16.6 million ($1.6 million) to the GDP, just over 20%.
The university has four faculties: business information systems; tourism and hospitality; defense management; and a one-of-a-kind faculty of HIV/AIDS management.
“We felt the time had come for us to offer programs that were relevant to Namibians,” she says.
The students studying at the HIV/AIDS management faculty come from Namibia and the South African Development Community (SADC) region, specifically Botswana. Its graduates work at the United Nations, NGOs and faith-based organizations.
“The lady who is in charge of the HIV/AIDS program in the defense force is our alumni,” says Namwandi, with pride.
She continues to fight Namibia’s skills shortage with lecture rooms that create employment.
“We are still heavily economically dependent on South Africa and others. It’s a situation that I would like to see change. It’s important that as much as Namibia took the reins, in terms of its political independence, this should be the time that we focus on making ourselves economically independent.”
This, she believes, is possible through empowerment by means of education.
“Education is the key; it will be one of the main enablers to reach 2030, which is the national vision for the country. I have hope, I see some of the decisions that are being made currently, that are going to enable that to make it happen,” she says.
Namwandi is open-minded—she looks beyond conventional qualifications and the university offers non-degree qualifications too.
“When you need a bulb changed or a plumber, you don’t need to go to someone with a degree. We need to also upgrade the concept of vocational training because for the longest time people looked at it as a lower qualification but the idea is to give it that place, to lift the status that will equip us well for the future.”
IUM is building hostels to cater for international students, who hail from 14 countries.
“They are all my children, in fact I always say that the most emotional experiences for me is a graduation ceremony… I love being around young people. They keep one young and youthful,” says Namwandi.
The academic staff are also an international mix.
“We have an IT lecturer from Cuba. We have an IT lecturer from India. We have [many lecturers] from the SADC region, especially Zimbabwe, and at management level we have someone from Sri Lanka, our registrar is Scottish.”
Her mantra for entrepreneurial success is: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
“We need to step out of the box; we’ve been boxed and it’s time to get out of these boxes and say: ‘No I can do it, if this person can do it, so can I.’ There is a big change in Namibia now because if you look at women soon after independence and now, women are coming out and filling those top positions and its good for us.”
So speaks the only female vice-chancellor in Namibia.

They Said It Wouldn’t Work

The selection of Hage Geingob as a future presidential candidate, during the party congress, has been widely seen as the end of the 50 years of liberation politics, which former President Sam Nujoma had dominated. A sigh of relief by the local and international business community—who feared a Zimbabwean-like land nationalization program and a confiscatory tax regime, had either of his opponents won—was heard across Namibia.
While he still has to face national and presidential elections in two years’ time, Namibia’s single-party dominant system is such that only a major political catastrophe would prevent Geingob from replacing President Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2015.
Geingob was Namibia’s prime minister since independence, in 1990, until suddenly being dismissed by Samuel Nujoma in 2002. He was banished to the political wilderness for five years before being re-appointed as prime minister by Pohamba in a transitional Cabinet that is notable for its promotion of technocrats.
Government insiders said that Geingob’s surprisingly easy victory over the more trenchant elements of the party, that has ruled Namibia since independence, would now see the country adopt a more developmental economy model. This is opposed to its current ‘mixed economy’ approach, whose success, to a large extent, would depend on oil and gas being discovered off the Namibian Atlantic coastline.
Geingob’s approach was not at variance with the ruling party’s official policies, his stress on an energy-based economy, which is needed to bring development to rural areas and address massive unemployment of more than 53%, was one that would see the state take on a more assertive role in developing the economy, according to analysts.
While the details still are not clear, chances are that Namibia under Geingob will adopt a policy of national champions as espoused by the Asian Tigers. This will boost local manufacturing and the development of so-called ‘energy corridors’ linking Namibia to its land-bound neighbors such as Botswana, Zambia and those further afield such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amongst others.
“The Namibian government under Geingob is increasingly likely to look towards the other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries for development partners because of the ongoing crises in the Euro and Dollar areas,” says Professor Andre du Pisani, head of the University of Namibia’s Economics department and a high-level government advisor.
The stress, he said, would be more on pragmatic politics and economic cooperation, rather than the ideological stance that has characterized much of SWAPO’s 50-year-long history as battler of imperial colonialists.
As a stable democracy blessed with good, if not super-abundant, resources supported by a strong mining industry; a world-class fisheries sector and good tourism potential—Namibia has never quite met high expectations because of a lingering ideological rift between moderates and hard-line nationalists that often saw executive decisions getting bogged down in turf battles.
Geingob has made much of the fact that while the country, and its ruling party, has adopted progressive policies over the past 22 years, where it most often failed was in implementing those policies. His political victory as a moderate has raised hopes that the economy would now get out of the blocks and overcome its political inertia.
And signs are that this time, this could actually happen. In what amounted to the biggest surprise over the outcome of the party’s congress, incumbent President Pohamba announced a sudden major Cabinet reshuffle two days later that firmly sidelined the hard-line factions without totally alienating them by re-assigning half of the 24 ministerial positions in a careful political balancing act.
Former regional government and housing minister Jerry Ekandjo, who is Geingob’s strongest opponent and a noted party hardliner and Nujoma loyalists, who backed by the party’s youth league had waged an increasingly nasty campaign for the presidential nomination, were re-assigned to the ministry of youth and sports instead.
Former justice minister and party secretary-general, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, who had hopes of becoming Namibia’s first female president, was thrown a political lifeline by being handed the politically powerful home affairs portfolio. This after she switched her support to Geingob during the congress, rather than supporting Ekandjo, whose political views she echoes.
And to keep everything in the family, Utoni Nujoma, who first backed Iivula-Ithana but then switched back to Ekandjo, was handed the justice portfolio.
He was replaced by technocrat Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as foreign affairs minister.
Pohamba, who had taken over from Nujoma as his preferred candidate in 2004, has always labored under the perception that he was a mere figurehead doing Nujoma’s bidding; this amounted to his greatest political moment in the 50 years he has lived in Nujoma’s shadow: “Going out with a bang,” as he had put it to a political confidante.
His open backing of Geingob, which upset the other two candidates no end, has effectively allowed him to bestow his own legacy upon the party by helping to elect the first non-Oshiwambo person to the country’s most powerful office and so bring to an end to Nujoma’s domination of a party he helped found in 1960.
Geingob’s victory also saw moderates make a clean sweep of all the top offices in the party hierarchy; putting paid to a mooted plan to have the hard-line Ekandjo take over the presidency for one term in order to prepare the way for Nujoma’s son, Utoni, to have a clean run at the presidency in 2019.
In his closing speech to the congress, Pohamba, with uncharacteristic frankness, referred to a “watershed” moment in the party’s history. Although he did not say so, the message was clear after Nujoma had called for a female presidential candidate, allegedly to split the pro-Geingob vote and hand victory to Ekandjo, only to see Iivula-Ithana humiliated with a mere 10% of the vote as delegates deserted her in favor of Geingob.
All agree that the rising resource nationalism as espoused by the hard-line factions in the party had now been taken off the table, although questions remained how an even-handed Geingob would be in framing policies as future president, says Graham Hopwood, director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a local think-tank.
“The question hanging over the Geingob candidacy is whether he will be able to distance himself from the interests of big business when making executive decisions and crafting policy,” Hopwood noted.
On the one hand, Geingob fought off Walmart’s proposed entry into the local market as not being in the interest of Namibia, but then also granted special tax status to French nuclear company Areva, a benefit that other uranium miners did not have, according to Hopwood.
This latter aspect is perhaps the most troubling aspect in an otherwise newly optimistic landscape: Geingob has admitted to receiving a $300,000 consultancy fee from Areva, albeit while still just a party backbencher in 2007.
But at least one can now expect that any future political debate over Namibia’s future would be centered on issues, rather than personalities, and that in itself amounted to major political progress, all agreed.

The Tide Turns

For three aspiring engineers, our wheels of choice were 150cc Big Boy Scooters. At the start line, in the city of gold, we joined 60 other like-minded crews on a journey labeled as Africa’s greatest social rally—the Put Foot Rally.
The expedition, onboard our three stallions, would take us 7,000 kilometers, through seven countries and six border checkpoints, in 21 days, all in support of Project Rhino KwaZulu-Natal. The rally’s intention is simple: to catapult adventurous spirits into their backyard and in the footsteps of David Livingstone. We set out to prove that Southern Africa can be explored on any wheels you choose.
<div id="attachment_1394" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1394" class="size-medium wp-image-1394" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/P7030297-300x219.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="219" />Our Scooters parked on the beach at Senga Bay Lake Malawi</div>
With frozen fingers, James, Matt and I waved at encouraging hoots, as we cleared Jo’burg on a chilly winter’s morning. Finally, we hit the open road, full steam ahead at 70km an hour, and made our way to the first border post into Botswana. Our first taste of open road biking included: dodging suicidal flamingos and angry ostriches as well as the odd elephant—something extraordinary when on two wheels. For the first couple of days, as we rode towards Etosha National Park, our morning sessions were split into 30km stints interspersed with star-jumps on the open road and warming our hands on the exhaust pipe.
Traveling up to 700km a day, meant we arose early; behind the fog and cold came daybreak, which brought new surprises perched on the horizon.
Out in the wild, we had to constantly monitor our fuel situation. Fuel is gold and with a range of 200km we were bound to run out, somewhere along our adventure. This happened in Namibia en route to Windhoek. With two scooters curb-bound, James slipstreamed a 18-wheeler truck for 40km and returned with a couple of liters.
We learnt that poor navigation in the middle of the night is all part of the experience. The excited faces, accompanied with cold beers, at the checkpoints were moments of accomplishment. These checkpoint parties consisted of a 300-strong group dressed in anything from animal print to luminous polyester, where many a story were shared from the days’ travels.
Desert evolved into mountains, which turned into grasslands and we had made the first leg of the journey to Etosha Park. There are some roads that make your heart beat fast and others that take your breath away. Perhaps the greatest part of riding across Africa is that you see every rolling hill, every river crossing and every bustling village. We learnt to have conversations, while riding, without saying a word and there were many humorous moments while shepherding Matt—who before this trip had never ridden a scooter.
Riding through the Caprivi Strip towards Livingstone was quite an experience. With only a couple of shirts and a Leatherman, we were often invited to dine with hospitable locals. Here the spirit of Ubuntu is real. After breaking down 80 kilometers out of Grootfontein, we hitched a ride back to town in a copper truck, negotiated accommodation in exchange for three beers and had our scooters serviced by a resident mechanic for free. Within one day we were back on the road in Livingstone, Zambia.
Not only does the Put Foot Rally give travellers the opportunity to explore some of Southern Africa’s most beautiful spots but it also facilitates fundraising for a great cause. The crews raised R560,000 ($65,000), which was used to buy 450 new pairs of school shoes for schoolchildren in Livingstone. It also created awareness and raised funds to help fight rhino poaching through Project Rhino.
We had cruised the Kavango, traveled the entire interior of Namibia and enjoyed the crisp taste of a Mosi on the banks of the Zambezi River. On entering Zimbabwe the beaten track led us towards Kariba Dam. We hopped onto a ferry and had a full day of downtime, much of which was spent sipping on Lion Lager and snacking on Kapenta (Tanganyika sardines). Well refreshed, we made our way to colorful Malawi and rode hugging the ‘Lake of Stars’.
Exploring the fleamarket-style villages by scooter was an experience. Traffic was always a breeze and the interest we received from people gave us an opportunity to learn hidden secrets about the country.
A conversation was bound to be fired up at every pit stop, especially with police officials, who asked how we managed to pack everything including a golf club. Officials let us through every roadblock or border post, laughing ‘Hah, silly Mlungus’, a reminder that when traveling Africa always remember to pack a sense of humor.
Next, we rode southwards into Mozambique, which presented us with unique landscapes. The bright lights of Teté; long, white beaches of Vilanculos; the historical architecture and the waving coconut trees of Inhambane made for an atmosphere like no other. As we cruised to Barra lodge, the idyllic finish line of our scooter odyssey, the realization hit that while not everything had gone our way—breakdowns led to nights on the side of the road and a couple of tumbles had depleted spirits—Africa and her people always seem to provide. Traveling across Southern Africa by scooter gave us the chance to take it slow and travel uninhibited. The rally gave us the chance to bond and give back to communities and conservation.
Go ride, Africa is more accessible than you think.

7 Thousand Kilometers, 6 Borders,  Ride For Rhinos:  No Regrets

If ever there was a country that could be described as Africa for beginners, Namibia would be a strong contender: a young, but stable, democracy and an open economy in a country blessed with good mineral and natural resources; a robust financial system, good infrastructure and an independent judiciary.
In spite of the relatively small size of the economy, with a Gross Domestic Product of around $12.6 billion, Namibia has been something of a niche destination, especially for mining companies, since achieving independence in 1990. While only the eighth largest producer of diamonds, its production is 90% gem quality and a mainstay of the economy.
The country is also a popular tourism destination and has marketed itself as an up-market holiday for European clients, much like neighboring Botswana. Its fishing industry is considered a world-class resource and is the source of much of Spain’s European whitefish exports.
Over the past two decades, Namibia has recorded respectable economic growth, averaging at 5 to 6% per annum, but it has been slipping of late. According to the latest available figures for the National Accounts for 2011, growth has dropped from 6.6% in 2010 to 4.8% in 2011, largely as result of a slump in the mining sector. Inflation has remained relatively stable, although it is expected to increase from 2011’s 5% to 6.5% this year.
Historically, the mining sector—followed by agriculture, fisheries and tourism—has been the engine of the Namibian economy, with mining’s contribution peaking at 15.9% of GDP in 2008. This was largely due to an unprecedented boom in uranium exploration in 2004-2010, which saw two new uranium mines opening in addition to the 36-year-old RioTinto-owned Rössing Uranium mine.
However, the economic fall-out from the 2008 international financial crises landed in Namibia shortly afterwards as investment flows froze and mining’s share of GDP contracted by a record 45%, as the impact of the February 2011 Fukushima incident pushed uranium prices down to levels where several uranium mining projects had to be shelved. The largest of these, the Chinese-owned Swakop Uranium project, is however still on track to commence production in 2015.
This trend has been offset to some extent by growing interest in the potential for finding off-shore oil and gas deposits along the 1,200 kilometer long Atlantic coastline, which is held to be analogous to the Brazilian geology, that has in recent years yielded impressive oil fields. The Kudu gas field, a modest deposit of 5.7 Tcf, was discovered along the southern coast line in the 1970s, but because of low international prices for this commodity, was never developed due to cost considerations.
A looming, region-wide electricity shortage has however added new impetus to investment in this field, and several oil majors, including Shell and BP, have recently joined forces with Namibian investors to resume the search for the precious commodity. The government announced that it was to push ahead with the development of the Kudu gas field, in order to construct a gas-fired power station that it hopes will renew momentum in the development of other mining projects, as well as take advantage of a regional electricity shortage by selling excess power to neighboring South Africa.
A recovery in zinc and tin prices in the third quarter has seen renewed interest in exploration for these commodities, while continued global insecurity has also seen the revival of several gold-mining projects. There has also been renewed interest from Indian and Chinese investors in hitherto undeveloped iron ore deposits. A planned extension of the local railway network into Botswana to allow it to exploit and export newly discovered coal deposits, via Namibia’s Lüderitz and Walvis Bay harbors, is widely expected to help the mining sector regain its prime position in the local economy.
Namibia, however, is not without its own problems, the most obvious of which is a persistently high unemployment rate, exceeding 51% in 2011, as well as a growing corruption problem in areas of government procurement and related services.
This has brought additional pressures to bear on the ruling South West Africa Peoples Organization (SWAPO), which has been in power since 1990 and is struggling to deal with an internal transition in leadership.
To address the most pressing problem of unemployment, the government has embarked on an expansionary budget over the past three years under the so-called Targeted Intervention Program for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG), a $1.5 billion stimulus program, that the government hopes would create an additional 104,000 new jobs per annum over the next five years.
Results so far have been disappointing in respect of employment creation, largely as a result of government’s insistence on making Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) the key criteria for accessing funding under this program.
This has also impacted on Namibia’s competitiveness: the most recent rankings released by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report showed the country has slipped nine positions to 92nd of 144 countries surveyed.
More worryingly, Namibia slipped 57 points in terms of rankings for the macro-economic environment due to the current high levels of debt—27% of GDP. Ranking of its infrastructure has also slipped by 26 points, which is of major concern to the mining industry.
Some of the concerns are being addressed: harbor facilities are currently being expanded to improve handling of bulk commodities like ore and the expansionary budgetary period is to cease by 2013-14.
As they say, ‘Watch this space’.

Tag: Namibia

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