President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged Namibian entrepreneurs to look beyond the domestic market and use the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand their businesses across the continent and into global markets.
Speaking at the official opening of the 25th Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair on Sunday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said trade platforms should increasingly connect Namibian businesses to regional and international commercial opportunities.
“We must use such platforms to deepen regional commerce and take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area. Our entrepreneurs must increasingly think regionally, continentally and globally,” she said.
The President said the growing international participation at the Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair demonstrates its potential to facilitate cross-border trade and investment.
This year’s event has attracted 36 international exhibitors from South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Botswana.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the international participation showed that the fair had grown beyond being a domestic exhibition and could increasingly serve as a gateway for Namibian businesses seeking markets elsewhere in Africa.
She also highlighted strengthening economic ties between Namibia and South Africa’s Limpopo Province, noting existing relations involving the Ohangwena, Oshana, Omusati and Oshikoto regions.
The President said Namibia needed to broaden economic participation while developing domestic businesses capable of competing beyond the country’s borders.
She said local enterprises should use trade fairs to establish commercial relationships, identify new markets and expose locally produced goods and services to potential regional buyers and partners.
Demand from businesses seeking to participate in the Ongwediva event has, however, outstripped the capacity of the existing facilities.
The trade fair received 1,872 applications for exhibition space this year, but only 485 exhibitors could be accommodated, leaving 1,417 applicants without space.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the figures showed that the trade fair had outgrown its existing infrastructure and called on the Ongwediva Town Council, private sector and other stakeholders to mobilise resources for its expansion.
She further proposed developing the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre into a year-round platform for trade, entrepreneurship, business events and investment engagement.
The President said the digital platform launched this year could extend commercial engagement beyond the physical event by keeping information on exhibitors, products and businesses accessible throughout the year.
She said expanding market access would be critical to creating sustainable businesses and employment as Namibia pursues economic growth under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).
