The 2015 Namibia Trade Mission for U.S. small and mid-size companies will focus on opportunities in multiple sectors, including mining, finance, infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, manufacturing, telecommunications and healthcare, education, housing, construction and fisheries.
The mission arrives in Namibia on October 25 and departs on October 30. It starts out in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city, where senior officials of the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development’s Investment Center will host a doing-business-with-Namibia seminar for the visitors. This will be followed by field trips to Walvis Bay, home to a deep-sea port, and to Swakopmund, a popular adventure tourism destination on the western coast, as well as meetings with officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Namibia Port Authority (NAMPORT), and NamPower utility.
Participants, includinga number of African-American business owners and corporate executives who have high expectations of their visit to the southern African nation, also will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with representatives of companies that match their individual interests.
Daron Wright, founder of Mobile App Express in Southfield, Mich., says he will explore the potential of Namibia’s mobile tech industry, while Audley “Kano” Smith, honorary consul of Namibia in Detroit, will look for opportunities in general for American companies. Other African-Americans taking part in the mission include Charles Wells, president of JCM International Ltd., a business development and funding consultancy in Duncanville, Texas, that specializes in Western and Southern Africa; and Michael Wells, a senior project architect with Dallas, Texas-based Boka Powell, a design firm specializing in healthcare and commercial construction.
Namibia is billing itself as the natural hub for trade and logistics in the southern Africa region, touting a “first-class road, rail and air infrastructure; strategically located and efficient sea-port; excellent telecommunications network; and generous, liberal investment regimes with low inflation and stable foreign reserves.”
“Fitch Ratings has affirmed that activity in Namibia will gather momentum in 2015-1016. It will be helped by a projected increase in uranium and gold output, as well as by a positive performance in the construction and retail sectors,” the Embassy of Namibia in Washington, D.C., says in a message to potential U.S. investors in the run-up to the mission.
Commercial Counselor Freddie Gaoseb is the embassy’s point person on the 2015 Trade Mission to Namibia.
