The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has held talks with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), and Mizuho Financial Group (Mizuho) to explore opportunities for green financing.
According to DBN Chief Executive Officer, John Steytler, the talks centered around areas of green industrialization, including water infrastructure development.
“I engaged in fruitful discussions with executives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), and Mizuho Financial Group (Mizuho) to explore opportunities for green financing partnership and collaboration, particularly in the areas of green industrialization, including water infrastructure development,” he said.
The visit by the three Japanese entities stems from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between JBIC and the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises in December 2023, signifying Japan’s combined efforts from both its public and private financing sectors.
The collaborative agreement, signed at COP28, focused on financing carbon-capturing projects.
As part of the MoU, JBIC agreed to support the development of environmental preservation projects in Namibia with the involvement of Japanese companies through exchanging information between JBIC and the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises of Namibia on the political and economic situations as well as on critical minerals-related and other potential projects committed toward environmental preservation, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
This comes as Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Nishimura Yasutoshi, last year, committed to invest N$28 billion (US$1.5 billion) in Namibia’s mining sector, subject to participation of Japanese companies.
