Nedbank Namibia says it is committed to work with both the government and the private sector to contribute towards the country’s economic recovery.
Namibia, like most African countries, is emerging from a COVID-19 pandemic that nearly paralysed world markets.
“We do believe that with our advanced logistics sector, we can overcome and rebuild on the setbacks brought about by the pandemic in the last two years. This sector is important for the growth of the Namibian economy, as Namibia is well-placed to be a logistics hub for its landlocked neighbours,” said Britt du Plessis, Nedbank Namibia’s Head of Business Banking.
“We continue to see that businesses can remain resilient in the face of the pandemic. Nedbank has a range of support measures on offer, and we encourage businesses to speak to us about how we can help and tailor solutions to meet their changing needs.”
She noted that despite the economic draw backs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Namibia’s infrastructure presents the country as an attractive investment destination.
“Namibia’s infrastructure is highly rated, with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report Index rating Namibia’s road network as one of the best in Africa. The ports of Luderitz and Walvis Bay are well regarded internationally, with increasing import and export volumes for both local and international markets. The new container terminal at Walvis Bay has doubled the port authority’s container handling capacity from 350,000 to more than 750,000 containers. The current upgrade of Hosea International Airport is expected to increase passenger volumes to 2 million per year by 2030,” du Plessis said.
“Furthermore, transport corridors such as the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, Trans-Cunene Corridor, and Walvis Bay to Ndola to Lubumbashi Development Corridor are important gateways to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) market. Namibia’s rail system is linked to South Africa and extends from the south to the Angolan border.”
According to the Bank of Namibia, the transport and storage sector contracted notably in 2020 due to low volumes experienced in most cargo categories because of COVID-19 restriction measures.
“The Namibia Statistics Agency has attributed the transport and storage sector’s downward path to poor performance, primarily in the subsector of air transport and airport services activities. This is due to restrictions on travel, both local and international, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated measures put in place to curb the spread of the disease, resulting in weak demand for airline services. Furthermore, the freight transport by road subsector is not doing well because there is less demand for goods, which means fewer goods need to be moved.”
